Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have done to ascertain whether the rate paid to councils to support care leavers who were formerly unaccompanied-asylum seeking children is sufficient to cover the costs of this support.

All local authorities receive funding via the Local Government Finance Settlement or finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23. The majority of the funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities and the services they provide.

Additionally, the Home Office provides a financial contribution to the costs incurred by local government supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and former UASC care leavers.

Any local authority receiving a child transferred under the scheme receives a funding contribution of £114 or £143 per child per night, dependent on the number of children they accommodate.

In addition, the government increased the contribution for all former UASC care leavers from £240 per person per week to £270 per person per week. These changes follow a significant uplift in funding in June 2020.