Petition details
Tower Hamlets Council: Please welcome child refugees
Why Tower Hamlets?
Tower Hamlets has a long and proud history of providing refuge. We
would like to thank Tower Hamlets Council for their ongoing
commitment to refugees, including the brilliant recent work they
have done in resettling 5 Syrian families through the Vulnerable
Persons Resettlement Scheme.
Funding for this resettlement programme would come from central
government, not from Council budgets. However, as a community we
will work to support the Council's capacity to resettle refugee
children, in any way we can.
The petition organisers are a group of local volunteers, brought
together by Safe Passage: safepassage.org.uk
Why is the Kindertransport anniversary campaign needed?
There are currently more than 25 million refugees worldwide, the
vast majority of them hosted by developing countries and fewer than
1% by the UK. Over half the world's refugees are children. You can
learn more at http://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-at-a-glance
The Kindertransport anniversary campaign is not asking the UK to
take more refugees than the UNHCR will ask them to anyway, but
simply to ensure that 1000 places per year are provided
specifically for children.
No child should have to live out their childhood in appalling
conditions in a refugee camp or war zone, or have to risk their
life to reach sanctuary. Yet many will spend their entire
childhoods away from home, sometimes separated from their
families.
When doors are being closed to refugees across the world, it is
more important than ever that we play our small part, in the UK and
here in Tower Hamlets.
This Petition ran from 04/08/2018 to 05/09/2018 and has now finished.
77 people signed this Petition.
Council response
Child Refugees/Un-accompanied Minors – Council Petition:
Children’s Services continue to offer and provide accommodation to unaccompanied minors and child refugees. This is undertaken primarily via a National Transfer System for UASCs and the Pan London Rota. The Pan London Rota is managed by London Borough of Croydon.
The National Transfer System commits each Local Authority to accept UASCs and/or Child Refugees up to 0.07% of their child population. Currently 19 London Boroughs are now over this Threshold. 700 UASCs have been transferred under the NTS. Currently there are 41 USACs cared for by Tower Hamlets of which 8 are refugee children. All UASCs will also become entitled to “Leaving Care” support post 18 years which impacts on a continuation of resources. Up to 21 years, and now beyond in particular circumstances.
London Councils are currently in the process of recruiting a dedicated post for London LAs to co-ordinate the placement of Children.
Funding for UASCs from Central government continues to be contentious as the various funding formulas have been found not to fully cover and account for the full cost of Refugee/UASC children. Despite these pressures we continue to offer foster placements, however, it is important to highlight the financial pressures that this brings. It is important to highlight that many of these young people have experienced considerable trauma and will require considerable supports not only from the Children’s Social Care but from the services of schools, CAMHs and Public Health.
In the immediate aftermath of the closure of the Calais Camp unaccompanied refugee children were dispersed to a number of camps across France as well as in Greece and Italy, with a view to placing/reuniting children with friends and families in the UK once a clear family link has been identified. At that time, Tower Hamlets played an active part in supporting the resettlement of a number of older young people from the Calais Camp in conjunction with our Voluntary Sector colleagues before the scheme was suspended and subsumed into the National Transfer Scheme.
The DFE are currently consulting on broadening their definition of friends and family to assist in finding placements for these children, but it will be important for the DfE and LAs to ensure that these placements continue to be assessed to ensure they meet the needs of this cohort of children that may have many vulnerabilities.
The Government continues to seek the placement of Refugee children from these camps, although there is a recognition by the DfE that this process has not progressed as quickly has hoped. In circumstances where unaccompanied refugee children require placements these children will be funded in the same way as UASCs who present/are identified at Ports of entry or other locations. Tower Hamlets is proud to play its part in line with its history of providing safe refuge.
Therefore, Tower Hamlets continue to provide support and offers of care to UASCs and refugee children through already established National and Pan London arrangements. Although we receive payment for these placements there is a growing evidence base that is not a ‘full cost recovery’ arrangement. The complex needs of these children also have implications for a number of our partners.
Whilst the petition to offer the 10 places in addition to our
current practice is undoubtedly driven for the most humane reasons
it is important to highlight our existing and continuing
commitments and the potential additional resource
implications.