Kent social services struggling with surge in child asylum-seekers

By The Press Association30th July 2015News EnglandAsylum, Childrens Services, Kent, Local Authorities, News England, Refugees / Asylum

Social services are struggling to cope with a surge in the number of children claiming asylum in the wake of the Calais crisis, a council chief has warned.

Paul Carter, leader of Kent County Council, met officials from the Home Office to highlight the impact of hundreds of minors arriving unaccompanied at the port of Dover.

The number of young migrants in the local authority’s care has almost doubled to 605 in the last three months, leaving it with a multi-million pound funding gap.

Mr Carter said the “massive logistical exercise” of supporting those aged under 18 who make it to the UK is putting an “enormous strain” on children’s social services.

“We’ve got two issues,” he said.

“One is having to contend with Operation Stack and the main arterial route the M20 being closed in both directions.

“But also, local government has statutory duties to provide care for unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 and those numbers have escalated dramatically in the last four to five weeks.

“That is connected with more migrants getting onto trains and in some cases boats and presenting at Folkestone or Dover seeking asylum. If they are under 18 we have to care and provide for them.

“About a year ago it was running at about 238 unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 that we were supporting. That is now well over 600 and rising day by day, week by week.”

He said the council faces a shortfall of £5.5 million in care costs.

“We get a Government grant, but it is never quite enough to meet the total cost of supporting those young people,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One

“Now the numbers have escalated to these very significant levels, we are really struggling to be able to support these vulnerable young people and have asked the Home Office and the Department for Eduction for additional support, with the potential to have a national dispersal system or a voluntary dispersal system with other authorities around the country, because our social services, frontline social workers, are working flat-out supporting this increase in number.”

Earlier David Cameron blamed the Calais crisis on a “swarm” of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

Speaking in Vietnam, the Prime Minister said the French had sent an extra 120 police and the UK was investing in fencing and security measures at the Channel crossings in Calais and Coquelles.

However, the Government has resisted mounting calls for the army to be deployed.

The Prime Minister told ITV News: “This is very testing, I accept that, because you have got a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain because Britain has got jobs, it’s got a growing economy, it’s an incredible place to live.”

His language drew criticism, with Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham describing his use of the word “swarm” as “disgraceful”, while Ukip leader Nigel Farage accused the Prime Minister of “trying to sound tough”.

On Wednesday there was a fresh wave of attempted incursions at the terminal as hundreds of migrants gathered for a third consecutive night.

Nine people have been killed attempting to cross the Channel in the last month, according to Eurotunnel.

The latest breaches prompted calls for the army to be sent in to tackle the crisis.

The United Nations Secretary General’s special representative on international migration, Peter Sutherland, said demands for economic migrants to be kept out of the UK are “a xenophobic response to the issue of free movement”.

Mr Sutherland told BBC2’s Victoria Derbyshire programme: “In my opinion, the debate in the UK is grossly excessive in terms of Calais. We are talking here about a number of people – a relatively small number in the context of what other countries are having to do – who are in terrible conditions and have to be dealt with by France and/or Britain.”