Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials of her Department have worked in Calais to support unaccompanied children in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17 to date.

At various points during the Calais camp clearances in 2016/17 the Government had over 200 staff supporting the deployment, including specialist social workers and interpreters, as well as officials seconded to the French Interior Ministry. In 2016 we transferred over 900 unaccompanied minors to the UK from Europe, including more than 750 from France, as part of the UK’s support for the Calais camp clearance.

We introduced the National Transfer Scheme in July 2016, underpinned by powers in the Immigration Act 2016. The Scheme makes it easier to transfer legal responsibility for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children from one local authority to another. The National Transfer Scheme has been working well since its launch in July 2016 and has successfully transferred unaccompanied children away from local authorities whose children’s services are under pressure, ensuring that vulnerable young people are getting the support they need. The National Transfer Scheme has also enabled many of the unaccompanied children transferred from France under the Dubs amendment to be placed with local authorities where they are now receiving the support they need. Additionally, to support the National Transfer Scheme, the Government significantly increased the funding we provide to local authorities who look after unaccompanied asylum seeking children.