Kent council’s housing for lone child asylum seekers ‘may run out’ in March

A group of people arriving in Dover, Kent, in a small boat are helped to disembark a Border Force vessel on 4 March. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Accommodation for lone asylum seeker children who arrive on the Kent coast in small boats could run out before the end of this month, a council has warned, placing them at risk.

Kent county council has legal duties under the Children Act to take these children into care on arrival in the UK. Due to its geographical location, it is under disproportionate pressure to look after these children compared with other local authorities. Under the national transfer scheme, many of the children are subsequently moved to different local authorities around the country after arrival.