Of course its the absolutely the right thing to do to help with refugees, and we are, but as we know the burden is not being shared equally, either in numbers being helped by other Councils, or the Government funding the programme.
I don't normally agree with Tory cabinet members from other Councils, but he is right, we want to help but please give us the cash to do it and do it well.
As has long been the case with this and the previous Government, they slash our budgets and somehow expect us to do more than ever, with less money.
I don't normally agree with Tory cabinet members from other Councils, but he is right, we want to help but please give us the cash to do it and do it well.
As has long been the case with this and the previous Government, they slash our budgets and somehow expect us to do more than ever, with less money.
Leicestershire County Council has asked the
government to entirely fund the cost of housing 74 child refugees…
The government has been asked to cover the cost of rehoming Syrian child
refugees by Leicestershire
County Council.
The cash-strapped local authority has to find £1.5m funding to rehome
these children.
Both Leicester City
Council and Leicestershire County Council have been told they
will need to take in 124 young people from Syria, with the former taking 50
children. Some have been separated from their families, others orphaned. The
cost of rehoming 74 children throughout the county could reach £3.25m.
The scheme, Interim National Transfer Protocol for Unaccompanied
Asylum-Seeking Children, will only be partly funded by the government, leaving
the county council to find a further £1.4m. Currently the authority already has
some 370 children it looks after.
Paul Meredith, interim director of children’s services at the county
council, said the money supplied by the government was not enough.
Speaking to the Hinckley Times, he said: “We want to support and be
party to this scheme to give these young people the best opportunities.
“The issue for us is that financial support we are getting to deliver
the programme and the logistical impact this would have on the provision of
services for our existing looked children.”
Conservative cabinet member for children’s services councillor Ivan Ould
said Immigrtation Minister Richard Harrington’s figure of it costing £20,000
per child is off base.
He said: “I advised him we would find ourselves spending £300,000 per
person if they have additional problems, if they were severely traumatised if
their families were blown up – £20,000 was quite frankly low.
“It is a matter of regret we are in the position we are in having made
the case already directly to a minister.
“We have to really shout from the rooftops about this.
“We want our responsibilities to be properly discharged but where we
find £1.5 million in our budget is a real worry.”
