Croydon Council ask government for urgent asylum support funding

Article summary

Croydon Council have informed the government of the £2.3m funding gap in the cost of caring for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people which could prove detrimental to the services and care they are able to provide. The necessity for this funding has been backed and verified by the borough’s government=appointed Improvement and Assurance Panel, who agree the gap poses a great risk. 24 other London councils have been temporarily taking new arrivals for the last three months, alleviating some of the pressure from Croydon, but with this due to end in the coming weeks, the council have also asked the government to reduce their unaccompanied asylum-seeking rate. Yet to hear from the Home Office, the Department of Education or the Ministry of Homes, Communities and Local Government, the council have predicted that their funding gap will be £7m by 2024, even with no new arrivals.