The Guardian, 12 May 2016
UK council leaders welcome government decision to take in more lone refugee children but say they need extra resources.
Council leaders, children’s services and foster carer networks have called on the government to properly resource local authorities to cope with the expected rise in unaccompanied child asylum seekers entering Britain.
They have warned that existing funding is inadequate to meet the needs of often traumatised children fleeing conflict zones and have voiced concerns over the government’s failure so far to provide details of how children arriving alone will be assessed and transferred to different parts of the country.
Last week, David Cameron accepted demands that Britain take some of the most vulnerable children from Europe in addition to those it will take from camps in the region. Downing Street has said it would not put a fixed number on arrivals from Italy, Greece and France, but would work with local councils to determine how many children will be resettled. However, councils point out the government has yet to announce new funding rates.
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