Scheme for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to be expanded

Date: 12th December 2017
Category: Refugee , migrant and asylum-seeking children

The UK government has introduced legislation to extend a scheme which ensures the care responsibilities of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is shared by local authorities to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Immigration Minister announced.

Once passed, this legislation will enable local authorities across Scotland and Wales, and Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland, to participate in the scheme which has been running in England since July 2016.

The National Transfer Scheme (NTS) is a voluntary scheme which means that local authorities which are caring for a disproportionate number of unaccompanied children can transfer children to another council with capacity.

• Read more about this here.