Ministers under fire for cutting asylum seeker children cash

Ministers are under fire for dramatically slashing funding for the support of hundreds of unaccompanied asylum-seeker children despite the rising numbers fleeing the war in Syria.

Cash-strapped town halls are in negotiations with the Government over cash to deal with the extra 20,000 refugees from the crisis David Cameron promised this week to bring to the UK.

But one council said hundreds of unaccompanied teens already in the country could suffer as a result of an “extraordinary” decision to withdraw millions a year of existing funds.

Croydon is seeking an urgent meeting with Immigration Minister James Brokenshire (pictured) and has warned him it would consider legal action if the issue is not resolved.

The south London borough – home to the main Home Office processing centre – is one of just three “gateway” areas that receive extra assistance to deal with large numbers of refugee children.

It was shocked to be told, after setting its annual budget, that it would get 17% less towards looking after each under-16 – £114 per day not £137.50 – and 20% less for 16 and 17-year-olds, £91 not £114.

That would amount to a £4 million cut just on existing numbers but is likely to be far more as new arrivals increase – with an extra 39 new youngsters coming under its control in July alone.

The other areas affected are Kent, which contains the port of Dover and has even more minors in its care than Croydon and the London Borough of Hillingdon, home to Heathrow Airport.

In an angry letter to Mr Brokenshire, the leader of the Labour-run Croydon, Tony Newman, said it posed “serious consequences for this cohort and potentially others in the borough”.

He told the Press Association: “There has been a clear breach of trust on this issue,

“It is a hugely damaging and extraordinary cut in the first place but still more so in the light of the humanitarian crisis coming right to the forefront of public debate and then the Prime Minister talking about 20,000 Syrian families coming.

“Government has the moral responsibility to make sure that these weren’t just warm words but that the funding is put in place to allow us or any other local authorities to be able to do that properly.

In a direct appeal to Mr Cameron he said. “As an act of faith, put back the money that was taken out and then let’s have a sensible discussion about what is a fair settlement to enable us and others to play a role in supporting refugees from Syria and for national government to be assured that is a sustainable position.”

A Home Office spokesman said it was “aware of the council’s concerns about funding reductions and are in the process of arranging a meeting with them to discuss these in more detail. It would be inappropriate to comment further before this meeting has taken place.”

Mr Newman said: “We very much hope that common sense will prevail.”

The chairman of the Local Government Association’s asylum, migration and refugee task group David Simmonds said he expected a “quick resolution”.

Cuts in funding for the “gateway” councils – which have forced them to make up increasing shortfalls from within their budgets – are part of the wider talks under way, he said.

Mr Simmonds, who is also deputy leader of Conservative-led Hillingdon, said: “We are working very closely on this with government and expect a quick resolution.

“We are currently in ongoing discussions with government and are calling for a long-term plan, which includes for how vulnerable children, families and adults will be supported as they move to the UK.

“Councils need a commitment from government to provide full funding to support individuals and families and the public services they will depend upon.

“Once we have details from government on when people will begin arriving in the UK, and what their individual circumstances may be, we can ensure that the support provided is tailored to their needs in the most appropriate areas.”

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