Judge Kent County Council a month for small boats children plan

A judge has given Kent County Council (KCC) and the Home Office a month to sort out an action plan to deal with the “unsustainable burden” created by unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).

Mr Justice Chamberlain has given both parties until January 31 to create a workable solution to transfer lone asylum seeker younsgters, most of whom arrive in small boats, to other parts of the country.

He made the order as part of his judgment on the long-running case, brought by KCC, which was issued yesterday (December 21).

Conservative MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke said more needs to be done to ensure the children find safety in Europe so they do not make perilous journeys to England.

Kent currently must take in all of the children before moving a proportion of them on to other councils.

But KCC has long contended the Home Office-agreed National Transfer Scheme (NTS) does not work.

It reached a crisis point earlier this year when KCC declared it faced a situation where it could no longer take local children into care because it was so overwhelmed by the young asylum seekers.

The High Court recently dismissed four of KCC’s five claims but crucially found in favour of its major concerns on the NTS.

Now the Home Office must come up with a plan, agreed with KCC, to make sure the NTS is enforced.

KCC leader Roger Gough, said: “For many years, we have asserted the need for an efficient and timely NTS.

“It is the only viable solution to the unfair and unsustainable burden on Kent Children’s Services and residents from increasing arrivals of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children on Kent’s shores.

“This judgment has recognised this. The court has now instructed the Home Office to urgently review the NTS and submit an appropriate, effective plan to facilitate timely transfers of UAS children out of Kent and equitably into the care of other UK local authorities.

“It must prevent Kent’s services becoming overwhelmed and eliminate the need for the Home Office to use hotels in the future.”

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said: “It’s truly shocking how many children are making this dangerous journey in small boats to arrive, alone, on our shores.

“It’s vital more is done to ensure young people are safe in the care of the authorities in Europe and not in the hands of violent criminal gangs.”

The “last resort” legal action by KCC followed “extensive unsuccessful attempts at dialogue” over the NTS’s failings, said Cllr Gough.

He added: “We are continuing to work closely with the Home Office to comply with all high court judgments to date and await the next hearing in March when the updated NTS will be reviewed.”

Setting a deadline of 4pm on January 31, the Home Office and KCC “must file and serve an agreed action plan setting out the actions they will each take, and take jointly, to secure the outcomes…”

The judge added: “The plan is to include short-term and long-term measures, costings and specific timescales as to when these outcomes are to be achieved.”

New arrival centres for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are also being planned in Kent in 2024.

It is hoped the plans will ease pressures on children’s services in the county, which were previously “so overwhelmed” KCC faced the prospect of not being able to take local youngsters into care.

Legally, it was ruled, Kent had to take in all UASC or face charges of acting in a discriminatory way.

KCC argued that at many stages its burden far exceeded the limit of 346 newly-arrived children agreed under a national distribution system.

The issue of costs will be decided at a later hearing in March 2024.