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| Ministers urged to spell out details of UK plan to take in Syrian children | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The government is under pressure to give more details of a £10m plan to take in more unaccompanied Syrian child refugees and to spell out precisely how many extra children Britain will take from Europe. | The government is under pressure to give more details of a £10m plan to take in more unaccompanied Syrian child refugees and to spell out precisely how many extra children Britain will take from Europe. |
| Ministers have been under pressure from Save the Children and opposition parties to take 3,000 unaccompanied vulnerable children, in addition to the pre-existing commitment to take 20,000 refugees in the parliament. | Ministers have been under pressure from Save the Children and opposition parties to take 3,000 unaccompanied vulnerable children, in addition to the pre-existing commitment to take 20,000 refugees in the parliament. |
| Kirsty McNeill, Save the Children’s campaigns director, welcomed the initiative and said the expected announcement would include “a significant new principle … that they do have a responsibility for children in Europe”. | |
| The Home Office emphasised that the bulk of the children would come from refugee camps on the Syrian border. | The Home Office emphasised that the bulk of the children would come from refugee camps on the Syrian border. |
| Related: Eighteen bodies recovered after refugee boat sinks off Greek coast | |
| But McNeill said on BBC Radio 4 that she understood the government announcement would include a commitment to take some unaccompanied children currently in Italy and Greece if they had a connection with the UK. She claimed there were 26,000 unaccompanied children in Europe. | But McNeill said on BBC Radio 4 that she understood the government announcement would include a commitment to take some unaccompanied children currently in Italy and Greece if they had a connection with the UK. She claimed there were 26,000 unaccompanied children in Europe. |
| The Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, welcomed the announcement but said it would be a mistake if the majority of children ended up coming from the Syrian border camps. | The Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, welcomed the announcement but said it would be a mistake if the majority of children ended up coming from the Syrian border camps. |
| Ahead of the announcement, McNeill said: “The change and the significant new principle that has been agreed – which the UK government has been resisting since last summer – is that they do have a responsibility to children in that are already Europe and not just children in the region, so the change that has happened overnight is, yes, once you are in Europe you are treated as the British government’s responsibility.” | |
| The children that will be taken from Europe will have to show they have some familial connection with the UK, and are likely to come from Italy and Greece.McNeill said more than 20,000 unaccompanied refugee children were in Europe, many sleeping in parks or at bus stations. | |
| But Save the Children acknowledged that its call for the government to take as many as 3,000 children has been rejected, and it did not know how many unaccompanied children will be taken from the EU, as opposed to the refugee camps on the borders of Syria. Government sources said the numbers would be in the hundreds and not thousands. | |
| Labour’s former shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “We have been campaigning for many months for the British government to help child refugees who are alone and vulnerable in Europe so this announcement is a very welcome step forward. And it is a tribute to Save the Children and everyone who joined the campaign that this progress has been made.” | |
| The Home Office minister James Brokenshire said in an overnight press release that the government would work with the UNHCR to identify vulnerable lone children in camps that could be taken to the UK, and said the Department for International Development would provide £10m to charities and the UN to help unaccompanied children in Europe. | |
| In addition ministers said they would help reunite lone children in Europe with their parents including by bringing them to the UK. | |
| On Wednesday David Cameron was accused of using inflammatory language about refugees at prime minister’s questions, during which he referred to people in camps at Calais as a “bunch of migrants”. | On Wednesday David Cameron was accused of using inflammatory language about refugees at prime minister’s questions, during which he referred to people in camps at Calais as a “bunch of migrants”. |
| Save the Children, Farron and Cooper have all argued that Britain needs to make a special case for some of the unaccompanied child refugees in Europe as they are prey to human traffickers, prostitution or to being used as a form of cheap labour. | |
| Related: For Cameron to speak of a ‘bunch of migrants’ is beneath him | Jonathan Freedland | |
| In Italy alone last year as many as 1,000 unaccompanied child refugees disappeared, prompting calls for a modern-day Kindertransport scheme similar to the one that saved many children in the second world war. | In Italy alone last year as many as 1,000 unaccompanied child refugees disappeared, prompting calls for a modern-day Kindertransport scheme similar to the one that saved many children in the second world war. |
| The Home Office said it could not predict the precise number of children who would be helped by the scheme. Many will be allowed to come to the UK but in some cases the effort will be focused on reuniting them with their parents elsewhere in Europe. | The Home Office said it could not predict the precise number of children who would be helped by the scheme. Many will be allowed to come to the UK but in some cases the effort will be focused on reuniting them with their parents elsewhere in Europe. |
| Ministers have promised to take 20,000 refugees over the course of the parliament under the vulnerable persons resettlement programme, but exclusively from UN-run camps near the border of Syria in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. So far 1,000 have arrived, of whom half are children. | Ministers have promised to take 20,000 refugees over the course of the parliament under the vulnerable persons resettlement programme, but exclusively from UN-run camps near the border of Syria in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. So far 1,000 have arrived, of whom half are children. |
| The Home Office said the UNHCR were the experts working in the countries surrounding Syria and other conflict zones and would be “asked to identify exceptional cases of unaccompanied children whose needs cannot be met in the region and whose best interests would be met through protection in the UK”. | The Home Office said the UNHCR were the experts working in the countries surrounding Syria and other conflict zones and would be “asked to identify exceptional cases of unaccompanied children whose needs cannot be met in the region and whose best interests would be met through protection in the UK”. |
| The Department for International Development will set up the £10m fund to include targeted support for unaccompanied children who face additional risks when they arrive in Europe. Support will probably be delivered through NGOs and UN agencies. | |
| In addition, the government will provide further resources to the European Asylum Support Office to help Greece and Italy identify migrants, including children, who could be reunited with family members elsewhere in Europe. If it is in their best interests, the family will be brought to the UK. | In addition, the government will provide further resources to the European Asylum Support Office to help Greece and Italy identify migrants, including children, who could be reunited with family members elsewhere in Europe. If it is in their best interests, the family will be brought to the UK. |
| Cameron has argued that if Britain takes in large numbers of refugees who have already travelled to Europe, the country would be rewarding refugees who had left the camps and so, in the long term, make it harder for Syria to be rebuilt when the civil war ends. | Cameron has argued that if Britain takes in large numbers of refugees who have already travelled to Europe, the country would be rewarding refugees who had left the camps and so, in the long term, make it harder for Syria to be rebuilt when the civil war ends. |
| The British approach has been condemned as paltry in comparison with the efforts of Germany, but Cameron argues that Britain has provided £1.1bn for the vast refugee camps on the borders of Syria, more than any other country except the US. | The British approach has been condemned as paltry in comparison with the efforts of Germany, but Cameron argues that Britain has provided £1.1bn for the vast refugee camps on the borders of Syria, more than any other country except the US. |
| Brokenshire said: “The UK government takes its responsibility in asylum cases involving children very seriously. Ensuring their welfare and safety is at the heart of every decision made. | Brokenshire said: “The UK government takes its responsibility in asylum cases involving children very seriously. Ensuring their welfare and safety is at the heart of every decision made. |
| “The crisis in Syria and events in the Middle East, north Africa and beyond have separated a large number of refugee children from their families. The vast majority are better off staying in the region so they can be reunited with surviving family members.” | “The crisis in Syria and events in the Middle East, north Africa and beyond have separated a large number of refugee children from their families. The vast majority are better off staying in the region so they can be reunited with surviving family members.” |
| The Local Government Association representing councils that house refugees said said any extra children would require funding, and possibly a national reception scheme to ensure only some councils have to carry the burden. | |
| In a statement, the LGA said: “It is vital that any increased resettlement programme is phased over time and planned in full partnership with councils across the country to ensure that services are able to cope with this additional demand.” | |
| Related: Sofie Gråbøl: ‘I want to feel proud of Denmark, but it’s not easy' | |
| It added: “It is not sustainable to leave a small number of port authority councils to look after large numbers of refugee children. Commissioning a national agency to systematically record arrivals, assess their needs and disperse children fairly between council areas would enable better planning across the country and ensure children and young people’s needs are met.” | |
| It said that at the end of March 2015, councils were looking after 2,630 unaccompanied asylum seeking children. This figure has already increased significantly following the pressures experienced over the summer of 2015, with Kent alone seeing its numbers increase from 365 unaccompanied asylum seeking children in March to just under 1,000 by December. | |
| “The recent funding boost for children arriving into Kent recognised the financial shortfall for councils and it is vital that this arrangement is now extended into a properly funded national scheme to support all areas struggling with increased numbers of unaccompanied children,” it said. | |
| The Scottish government has also been pressing the UK government to do more. Scotland welcomed 400 of the 1,000 refugees Cameron agreed to take before the end of 2015, although the Scottish government’s proportionate commitment was to take 10%. But Scottish ministers insisted this was “the floor and not the ceiling” of how many refugees Scotland was willing to accept. |