A group of 10 councils is to take the Government to task in the House of Lords over asylum-seeking funding.
The authorities claim they are millions of pounds out of pocket from supporting more than 3,500 young asylum-seekers.
Birmingham, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kent, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxfordshire, Solihull and West Sussex councils say they have spent more than £100m in the past two years on the youngsters. Kent CC leader, Cllr Paul Carter, said: ‘We have a duty of care to these young people and as such, legislation requires us to provide a range of services to them. But legislation governing the care that should be provided conflicts with the Government’s own rules about the grants councils can be paid to provide such services.’
Two ways to improve local authority finances
The NAO has concluded insufficient action has been taken to address weaknesses in council finances. Teams from TLT LLP consider what councils should do next.
