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| Dubs amendment: Tory backing for council refugee audit | Dubs amendment: Tory backing for council refugee audit |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Up to 30 Tory MPs could back steps to require councils in England to identify whether they have spare capacity to house unaccompanied child refugees. | Up to 30 Tory MPs could back steps to require councils in England to identify whether they have spare capacity to house unaccompanied child refugees. |
| Conservative Heidi Allen said ministers had not consulted properly with local authorities when opting to close the Dubs resettlement scheme this month. | Conservative Heidi Allen said ministers had not consulted properly with local authorities when opting to close the Dubs resettlement scheme this month. |
| Campaigners want 3,000 Syrian and other minors in Europe to be found homes. | Campaigners want 3,000 Syrian and other minors in Europe to be found homes. |
| The Home Office said it encouraged councils to come forward if they had capacity for child asylum seekers. | The Home Office said it encouraged councils to come forward if they had capacity for child asylum seekers. |
| Campaigners say ministers have failed to live up to their commitment to do all they can to help the victims of the civil war in Syria and other conflicts when agreeing to take an unspecified number of children under a scheme named after Labour peer Lord Dubs. | Campaigners say ministers have failed to live up to their commitment to do all they can to help the victims of the civil war in Syria and other conflicts when agreeing to take an unspecified number of children under a scheme named after Labour peer Lord Dubs. |
| When the scheme closes later this month, the government expects 350 children to have been given sanctuary in the UK - on top of those already accepted under other resettlement and asylum programmes. | When the scheme closes later this month, the government expects 350 children to have been given sanctuary in the UK - on top of those already accepted under other resettlement and asylum programmes. |
| Ministers have said councils, which are under extreme financial constraints, do not have the capacity to take the number mooted by campaigners. | Ministers have said councils, which are under extreme financial constraints, do not have the capacity to take the number mooted by campaigners. |
| They have also long expressed concerns that taking children directly from southern Europe and the Balkans encourages child trafficking and potentially fatal journeys across the Mediterranean - a claim contested by charities. | They have also long expressed concerns that taking children directly from southern Europe and the Balkans encourages child trafficking and potentially fatal journeys across the Mediterranean - a claim contested by charities. |
| A cross-party group of MPs hopes to amend the Children and Social Work Bill currently before Parliament to place a statutory duty on councils to consult and report back to ministers at least once a year on their capacity to provide safeguarding and welfare services to children, including refugees from abroad. | A cross-party group of MPs hopes to amend the Children and Social Work Bill currently before Parliament to place a statutory duty on councils to consult and report back to ministers at least once a year on their capacity to provide safeguarding and welfare services to children, including refugees from abroad. |
| Ms Allen said the UK had done an "amazing job" in terms of welcoming 20,000 refugees directly from Syria and its neighbouring countries and providing more than £2bn in aid to help those displaced by the six-year conflict. | Ms Allen said the UK had done an "amazing job" in terms of welcoming 20,000 refugees directly from Syria and its neighbouring countries and providing more than £2bn in aid to help those displaced by the six-year conflict. |
| But she said helping unaccompanied children already in Europe was a "final piece in the jigsaw" where the UK was currently falling short. | But she said helping unaccompanied children already in Europe was a "final piece in the jigsaw" where the UK was currently falling short. |
| "This is a global crisis and we need to play our part," she told the BBC. | "This is a global crisis and we need to play our part," she told the BBC. |
| "The Dubs amendment moved us as a nation. We could not not respond to that terrible image of a little boy washed up on the beach. | "The Dubs amendment moved us as a nation. We could not not respond to that terrible image of a little boy washed up on the beach. |
| "We have decided to end the Dubs scheme neatly at the end of the financial year. Humanitarian crises won't end at the end of the financial year nor should our compassion." | "We have decided to end the Dubs scheme neatly at the end of the financial year. Humanitarian crises won't end at the end of the financial year nor should our compassion." |
| Amir's story | Amir's story |
| Seventeen-year-old Amir lived with his family in the Syrian city of Aleppo, for years the scene of some of the country's worst fighting. His parents were so frightened that their only son would end up as a fighter, either for government forces or for the Free Syrian army, that they took the decision to get him out of the country. | Seventeen-year-old Amir lived with his family in the Syrian city of Aleppo, for years the scene of some of the country's worst fighting. His parents were so frightened that their only son would end up as a fighter, either for government forces or for the Free Syrian army, that they took the decision to get him out of the country. |
| He told the BBC: "It was like a horror film, bombs every day, everybody scared, the only choice is to wait for death or leave." | He told the BBC: "It was like a horror film, bombs every day, everybody scared, the only choice is to wait for death or leave." |
| In 2015, his parents paid people smugglers to transport Amir to Turkey. He was 15. He describes how from there he travelled through seven other European countries alone, sometimes negotiating with traffickers. | In 2015, his parents paid people smugglers to transport Amir to Turkey. He was 15. He describes how from there he travelled through seven other European countries alone, sometimes negotiating with traffickers. |
| Helped by the charity Safe Passage, he was transferred to the UK from France last autumn. He is one of 200 unaccompanied under 18s who have been re-settled here under the Dubs scheme. | Helped by the charity Safe Passage, he was transferred to the UK from France last autumn. He is one of 200 unaccompanied under 18s who have been re-settled here under the Dubs scheme. |
| "It's so sad the government is closing the scheme. There are lots of children having bad times with no one to care for them. We will be grateful if the British government can help others to survive," he said. | "It's so sad the government is closing the scheme. There are lots of children having bad times with no one to care for them. We will be grateful if the British government can help others to survive," he said. |
| The MP for South Cambridgeshire said she had been assured by bodies representing councils that many still had the scope to accept children and that an annual audit, with a duty on ministers to report back to Parliament, would help them to do so. | The MP for South Cambridgeshire said she had been assured by bodies representing councils that many still had the scope to accept children and that an annual audit, with a duty on ministers to report back to Parliament, would help them to do so. |
| "Some councils are absolutely bursting, they cannot take any more. | "Some councils are absolutely bursting, they cannot take any more. |
| "They have done an amazing job. But there are those still stepping forward and we have not taken them up on their offers." | "They have done an amazing job. But there are those still stepping forward and we have not taken them up on their offers." |
| She added: "This problem won't go away. There are thousands of children who won't go away who are in Greece and Italy who have nowhere to go. | She added: "This problem won't go away. There are thousands of children who won't go away who are in Greece and Italy who have nowhere to go. |
| "Of course, we can't help them all. But they are turning to traffickers because legal, safe routes like Dubs have been closed to them. They will come to northern France and they will become our problem." | "Of course, we can't help them all. But they are turning to traffickers because legal, safe routes like Dubs have been closed to them. They will come to northern France and they will become our problem." |
| The MP's amendment - being tabled at Report Stage of the legislation - has won the backing of Labour and the Lib Dems as well as prominent former Conservative ministers including Nicky Morgan, Tim Loughton and Anna Soubry. | The MP's amendment - being tabled at Report Stage of the legislation - has won the backing of Labour and the Lib Dems as well as prominent former Conservative ministers including Nicky Morgan, Tim Loughton and Anna Soubry. |
| 'Best interests' | |
| Ms Allen said she believed she had enough support to get it through the Commons, where the government has a working majority of 16. | Ms Allen said she believed she had enough support to get it through the Commons, where the government has a working majority of 16. |
| "I believe, as many do in the House of Commons - especially on my side around about 30 - that we do need to play our part there." | "I believe, as many do in the House of Commons - especially on my side around about 30 - that we do need to play our part there." |
| Faith leaders and prominent actors, including Juliet Stevenson, Rhys Ifans and Toby Jones, lead a demonstration outside the Commons during Tuesday's debate designed to increase pressure on the government. | |
| Citizens UK has claimed there are at least 368 spaces available for children in the UK under the terms of the national transfer scheme for asylum-seekers. | Citizens UK has claimed there are at least 368 spaces available for children in the UK under the terms of the national transfer scheme for asylum-seekers. |
| A government spokesman said: "We set up the national transfer scheme to ensure that caring responsibilities for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are shared by local authorities across the country in a way that is fair and in the best interest of the children. | A government spokesman said: "We set up the national transfer scheme to ensure that caring responsibilities for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are shared by local authorities across the country in a way that is fair and in the best interest of the children. |
| "We continue to encourage local authorities to participate in this scheme. | "We continue to encourage local authorities to participate in this scheme. |
| "Each year around 3,000 children arrive in the UK and claim asylum, which is in addition to children placed in a local authority area through our resettlement schemes from the Middle East and North Africa region. | "Each year around 3,000 children arrive in the UK and claim asylum, which is in addition to children placed in a local authority area through our resettlement schemes from the Middle East and North Africa region. |
| "Last year, the UK granted protection or another form of leave to more than 8,000 children." | "Last year, the UK granted protection or another form of leave to more than 8,000 children." |