To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consultations he has had with the local authority associations about the costs faced by authorities in providing child care services for unaccompanied Eritrean refugee minors; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will call for a report from the London borough of Hillingdon on the cost of providing accommodation for children from Eritrea and adjacent territories; and if he will make a statement.
Following a meeting with the local authority associations on 25 September, the Department wrote to the association on 22 October asking for information about the cost faced by authorities, including Hillingdon, in providing child care services for unaccompanied Eritrean children seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. We will consider what action, if any, should be taken when this information is received.