Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Home Office of 29 June 2017, HL 783, column 551, whether local authorities with capacity to care for a greater number of unaccompanied children than that set out under the provisions of section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and the Written Ministerial Statement made on 26 April 2017, HCWS 619, will be able to apply to do so.

The Government welcomes all offers from local authorities with capacity to look after unaccompanied asylum seeking children. We will continue to utilise these offers to fulfil all of our existing commitments, including ensuring a more equal allocation of unaccompanied children across the country through the National Transfer Scheme.