Refugee children in care doubles, says council

A rise in the number of refugee children was having a "significant impact" on under-pressure children's services, a city council said.

Peterborough's children's services department, which was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted, has made "improvements" and the local authority said work was ongoing to build on this.

During a council meeting this week, an annual report into the department said there were 422 children and young people under the council's care of of 31 March 2024, and 42 of them were unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC).

That was an increase of 46% from 27 UASC in 2022.

The council receives asylum-seeking children into care through the National Transfer Scheme, funded by the Home Office, which allows the children to move to a different local authority rather than responsibility falling disproportionately on local authorities at their port of entry or arrival in popular cities.

Out of those 422 children in care, 57 % were "White British", with 43% of other ethnicity.

Katie Liddle, designated nurse for children in care the council, said: "We did see a huge influx of unaccompanied asylum seeking children at the end of the summer and early autumn.

"It does have an impact on capacity and we do have a bit of a bottleneck. It takes a bit of time to work through those.

"The duration of an appointment for a UASC is extended to allow for interpretation... between the young person, the carer (if they are present) and the healthcare professional."

The council said the number of children requiring care stabilized in 2024, but the increase in the number of older children being looked after created additional pressure to secure suitable homes and therapeutic treatment.

Angie Bishop, head of service corporate parenting and fostering at the town hall, described the increased complexity of children's needs as "stark and significant" in terms of the pressures placed on services, and added that it was a national issue.

Katy Cole, cabinet member for children's services, said: "We are fully aware that things still need to improve, but the shoots are there and they are growing fast."

In November 2023, a board of governors was set up after the council's response to child exploitation was ruled "not effective" by Ofsted and some young people had been left in "situations of risk".

The services were revisited in January and were said to have made "significant strides".

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