I am writing to you as the Leader of Kent County Council in relation to the critical role which Kent has and continues to play in the reception of unaccompanied asylumseeking children attempting to get access into the UK.
I was pleased to hear from officers that following the High Court judgement of July 2023, the Home Office has recognised its national responsibilities in adequately funding this work and for implementing the efficient working of the National Transfer Scheme.
I trust that this commitment on behalf of the Government will be upheld until such time as the flow of illegal migrants via the channel into Dover is stopped, something which we hope will be imminent.
However, I was very concerned to hear that delays in processing asylum claims for those UAS children who turn 18 is still far too slow which means that the county of Kent continues to shoulder the burden of fully supporting them until a determination is made.
You will be aware that even in ideal circumstances, Government funding for 18+ adults who were previously UAS children is woefully inadequate for us to meet our duties to them as care leavers, but in the absence of an immigration decision, all their support needs for housing and subsistence fall on the Kent taxpayer. This is not a situation which I or my administration are prepared to tolerate.
The fact is that the great majority of 18+ previous UAS children end up with temporary and then Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), therefore a much quicker decision on that would reduce the burden on the taxpayer, open access to training, work and housing and significantly reduce the burden on the state generally.
I propose that in the context that the extensive rights and opportunities which are available for our Kent citizen care leavers must be provided by law to previous UASC care leavers, there are two solutions which could address this quickly.
Firstly, that priority is given by the Home Office to progressing the immigration decisions for those individuals who arrive in the UK as minors so that they can either be given a legal status or be removed. Secondly that the Government continues to fund those 18+
UASC without an immigration decision at the same rate as the under 18’s i.e. at £143 per day.
This would ensure that councils such as mine are not left out of pocket as a result of delays completely outside of our making or control.
I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Yours sincerely
Linden Kemkaran
Leader of Kent County Council
