Clause 34
Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [Lords]
9:15 am
Damian Green (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Ashford, Conservative)
I want to follow up on that briefly. As the Minister rightly said in response to the important point raised by the hon. Member for Rochdale, it is not the child’s fault. Clearly, under the Bill and the general provisions, we would not want children themselves to suffer in any way. Would he take this opportunity to let us know the state of play with funding for local authorities that are particularly affected by being in charge of unaccompanied minors who find themselves in this country?
The Minister will be aware that responsibility falls disproportionately on a small number of local authorities, notably Kent and Hillingdon but others as well. He will also be aware, as I am, that, to put it crudely, they thought that a settlement had been reached about a year ago but it seems to be not quite falling apart but fragile at best. This might be an opportune moment for him to reassure the Committee and, through the Committee, the local authorities concerned about the state of play.