Purpose

Reason for
Urgency
 
The Court has ordered the Council to take all
possible steps to increase its capacity to safely accommodate and
care for all UAS children who arrive in Kent and are notified to
it. Directions have also been made requiring the Council to agree
an action plan with Central Government with steps to achieve that
objective.  Since the court direction,
the Council has been developing a plan subject to funding by
Central Government, to increase accommodation and support for UAS
children in Kent. Discussions have been progressing with the Home
Office to agree a revenue and part-capital funding package, which
is significantly progressed albeit not yet agreed in
full.  An element of additional capital
funding was finalised on 8 December 2023 through a grant agreement
with the Department of Education (DfE).   It has been necessary to progress the
decision via urgency procedures as the alternative would involve a
significant delay of between 2 and 6 weeks, reducing the
Council’s ability to comply with its legal requirements and
bring the accommodation at the soonest opportunity, which is
necessary given that the accommodation will be needed when UAS
children numbers in Kent start to increase in the Spring.
 
Due to the
constantly changing situation with regards to various Court
proceedings and negotiations over funding, it has not been possible
to take this decision via KCC’s normal governance
route.
 
Reason for the
decision
 
1.   
This decision sets out the Executive Policy choice to take steps to
secure the required UASC accommodation and establish relevant
service provision to meet the Council’s statutory obligations
to all UAS children notified to it.
 
 
2.   
The decision is necessary to provide authority for the mobilisation
of significant resource and Council activity toward delivering an
expanded service in this area, to comply with legal duties arising
under statute (including the Children Act 1989) and a number of court judgements and orders. 
 
3.   
The financial implications exceed £1m. All costs are expected
to be reimbursed in full by Government. The costs represent
substantial service development, including amending the estate
requirements for the service, which has implications for properties
currently marked for disposal. The decision confirms the policy
requirement to direct the relevant KCC resources to support the
policy objective to ensure sufficient accommodation and support is
in place to meet legal requirements. 
 
4.   
For the Council to comply with its statutory duties and the most
recent requirements confirmed by the courts, it must continue to
move at pace to secure the additional UAS child accommodation and
put relevant service provision in place.
 
5.   
It is in the interests of the relevant UAS children to have access
to the accommodation and support being arranged by this decision as
quickly as possible. 
 
6.   
To deliver the service accommodation requirement to meet its
statutory duties, the Council must enter
into contracts as soon as possible to enable the necessary
works to be completed and in time for when greater numbers of UAS
children are expected to require support in spring/Summer 2024. As
other funding arrangements are confirmed it will be necessary to
progress at pace.
 
7.   
The Court has directed the Council to take all possible steps to
increase its capacity to safely accommodate and care for all UAS
children who arrive in Kent and are notified to it.  Directions have also been made requiring the
Council to agree a plan to provide accommodation and support for
all UAS children. Since the court direction, the Council has
developed a plan subject to funding by Central Government, to
increase accommodation for UAS children in Kent. Discussions have
been progressing with the Home Office to agree a revenue and
part-capital funding package, which is significantly progressed
albeit not yet agreed in full.  An
element of additional capital funding was finalised on the 8 of
December 2023 through a grant agreement with the Department for
Education (DfE).  
 
8.   
It has been necessary to progress the decision via urgency
procedures as the alternative would involve a significant delay of
between 2 and 6 weeks, reducing the Council’s ability to
comply with its legal requirements and bring the accommodation at
the soonest opportunity, which is necessary given that  the accommodation
will be needed when UAS children numbers in Kent start to increase
in the Spring.
 
9.   
Due to the constantly changing situation with regards to various
Court proceedings and negotiations over funding, it has not been
possible to take this decision via the Council’s normal
governance route.
 
Background
 
Following recent High Court
judgments and orders, this decision is required to enable the
Council to put in place the necessary arrangements to increase
Ofsted regulated accommodation provision, to enter into necessary
contractual agreements and operational arrangements to deliver the
required services in line with the court orders, and to meet its
statutory duties, including its Section 20 duties, in relation to
all UAS children arriving in Kent.
 
Options (other
options considered but discarded)
 
In view of the urgent requirement to comply
with the Council’s statutory obligations and court orders, no
alternative options were considered. However, during the delivery
of the programme’s initial actions that led to the report,
options were considered in respect of identifying scaling up the
service provisions and suitable accommodation options.
 
How the proposed
decision supports the
Framing Kent's Future - Our
Council Strategy 2022-2026
 
The proposal and subsequent
decision align to the Council’s Framing Kent’s Future
Strategy in that it will enable Kent’s Children’s
Service to deliver the Council’s statutory duties under the
Childrens Act 1989 and the recent judgments and orders made by the
High Court. Funding is being sought from Central Government to
ensure that the Council is not financially disadvantaged and that
budgets are not impacted adversely.
 
Financial
Implications
 
The Financial implications are
set out in detail within the report accompanying the
decision.
 
The financial implications set
out the estimated capital and revenue costs, both one off and
recurring and the need to ensure that the Council’s costs are
fully funded by Central Government.
 
The latest estimated capital
costs total £32.93m, the revenue costs total £20m to
£23m in 2023-24, up to £60m for 2024-25 and annually
going forward. Initial funding of £9,2m for revenue costs has
been provided by the Home Office and discussions are on-going
regarding the remainder of the revenue funding requirement and the
funding model. The Department of Education has confirmed
£10.39m capital funding, with the Home Office confirming in
principle £16.8m capital funding, leaving a shortfall of just
under £6m. The shortfall in capital funding is included in
the funding discussions with the Home Office.
 
The forecast out-turn for
2023-24 and the budget for 2024-25 assume that the costs incurred
by the Council will be fully funded. Any shortfall in funding will
impact on the Council’s financial sustainability and is
highlighted as a key risk.
 
Legal
Implications 
 
Legal advice has been provided by the
Council’s legal advisors in relation to the ongoing
litigation and the context and impacts it has to the proposal and
decisions required. This will include operational activity required
under the decision, including the management and instruction of
works to make properties fit for purpose, and the development and
implementation of the required UAS Child service provision to
provide appropriate support to this vulnerable group, will be
progressed via delegated authority as set out in the decision.
 
The scale of the activity approved will be
detailed in the report and authority to implement is limited to the
level determined by the policy position, to ensure the
Council’s compliance with the court orders and its statutory
obligations.  The legal risks to the
Council of not undertaking the approved activity and/or fully
discharging its statutory obligations are set out in the
report.
 
If the level of works and support change to a
substantially beyond the core policy decision to meet legal
requirements, or funding should cease to become available from
Central Government or is insufficient to fund this activity,
further reports and decisions may need to be made.
 

Decision

As Cabinet Member for Integrated Children Services, I
agree to:
 

a)   
APPROVE the policy
approach to securing and delivering additional accommodation and
support for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking (UAS) children, as
detailed in the report;

 

b)  
CONFIRM the revised
property and infrastructure requirements for the service in light
of the updated UAS children accommodation approach;

 

c)   
NOTE the
current position and the measures already taken by the
Council.

 

d)  
NOTE that the
capital costs and operating costs are expected to be reimbursed by
Central Government;

 

e)   
DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People
and Education to take required actions, including but not limited
to agreeing funding arrangements in consultation with the Corporate
Director of Finance and entering into contracts or other legal
agreements and undertaking relevant service review or redesign, to
establish and enter operational arrangements both in relation to
existing and new arrangements, as noted in the report, to implement
the policy decision and ensure lawful compliance of the Councils
statutory duties relating to UAS children service provision;
and

 
f)    
DELEGATE authority to the Director of Infrastructure to, in consultation
with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate
and Traded Services and the Corporate Director for Children, Young
People and Education, implement the relevant building works,
finalise and enter into necessary
contracts, funding or other legal agreements (including the
completion of land transfers and acquisitions), and reallocate
properties from the disposal list, to implement this
decision.