Kent says it is “once again” unable to meet statutory care duties amid rise in unaccompanied asylum seeking children arrivals
Kent County Council has warned that it cannot meet its statutory duties to children as a result of an "inadequate" National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and high numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking (UAS) children arriving on its shores.
The council had previously eased pressure on its care services through a deal with the Home Office that capped the number of UAS children the council would take.
But in a High Court ruling in July, Mr Justice Chamberlain found the practice to be unlawful. The judge also ruled that Kent's decision to stop taking UAS Children breached the Children Act 1989.
As a result, the council must take all vulnerable children into its care, including UAS children.
But just two months after the ruling, Kent says it can no longer look after UAS children while also discharging its duties to other children in Kent.
In a joint statement, Kent's leader, Cllr Roger Gough, and its cabinet member for Integrated Children's Services, Cllr Sue Chandler, said: "It is with deep regret that, due to ever escalating arrivals and a wholly inadequate National Transfer Scheme (NTS), KCC has once again been forced into the position of being unable to meet both its statutory duties to care for every unaccompanied child newly arriving or already resident in Kent and care for them safely, and discharge all of its other duties towards vulnerable children and young people in Kent."
Since the judgment, 489 newly arrived UAS children have been referred to Kent's Children's Services, according to the council.
"This number far exceeds the total number of referrals into most other UK local authorities Childrens' Services in a YEAR," Cllr Gough and Chandler said. [their emphasis]
They continued: "Transfers of UAS children from Kent to other local authorities have numbered just 136 in the same period.
"Currently KCC has 315 more UAS children in the council's care than the 0.1% (346) threshold under the NTS.
"We are not able to deal with this international issue alone without a properly managed and effective NTS. This continues to have significant implications for our county and all children and young people who require services under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, whether they arrive as asylum seekers or already reside in Kent."
According to the council, Kent is currently looking after 661 UAS children and 1030 UASC care leavers.
The NTS is a scheme run by the Home Office that facilitates the transfer of UAS children from one local authority to another.
Ahead of Chamberlain J's decision, Kent's monitoring officer, Ben Watts, issued a section 5 report warning councillors that the council could not meet all of its statutory duties given the number of UAS children arriving on the Kent coast. Two prior section 5 reports on the issue had already been issued by that point.
The report detailed the conclusion of its current and former Directors of Children's Services (DCS) that the competing interests of different sets of statutory duties, including duties to the young people (citizen and UASC) that are already within the council's care, means that the council "would inevitably fall outside at least one of the duties if it was to try and take into its care every UASC who arrives in Kent".
Adam Carey
