TWO children found wandering alone on the M606 are among the newest and youngest asylum seekers to be taken into Bradford Council’s care, the Telegraph & Argus can reveal.

The youngsters were discovered on the busy motorway on separate occasions three weeks apart.

They are now being looked after in the city as part of an agreement with the Home Office to take on a total of 93 unaccompanied young asylum seekers over the next two years.

Councillor Val Slater, the deputy council leader and executive member for health and well-being, said: “We can’t know for sure how the two children got to the M606 when they did, whether they were dropped off by traffickers directly or had hidden themselves in lorries and jumped out but whatever the means, they are children and, in all conscience, with them having been found so close to our city, we could not ignore them.

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“We had to help. It was our moral duty. I hope T&A readers and residents of Bradford will agree with me.”

Jim Hopkinson, the Council’s deputy director of children’s social care, said council chiefs had agreed with the Home Office to take only 16 and 17-year-olds at this time.

The arrivals will be staggered and each child will bring £31,000 each year of Government funding to cover costs.

Mr Hopkinson stressed every single local authority had been asked by the Home Office to take in 0.07 percent of its young population and said: “Bradford will take no more and no less than any other authority.

“It’s voluntary, it was an ask but every local authority has agreed to it.”

Mr Hopkinson also said the £31,000 calculated by the Government was “a fair amount” adding “It should not be an additional burden to Bradford.”

He said: “The council is not worried or fazed about it.

“I’m reasonably confident we can provide a good level of care and services to meet the needs of these young people without any impact on Bradford’s existing services .”

Part of the Government funding will be used to employ four new social workers to take on the extra caseloads and one more specialist independent reviewing officer to double check their work.

There will also be a need for more community resource workers to help settle in the young people who will be classed as looked-after children until they turn 18 and the Home Office will decide their long-term residencies.

Bradford specifically requested 16 to 17-year-olds because it was known it had the capacity to take that age group, said Mr Hopkinson.

“That age group can go into supported lodgings or hostels where they can get support. Under 16s would have needed foster carers or children’s homes.

“It’s not inconceivable that some might still benefit from being with a foster family and we’d like to hear from anyone interested but it wouldn’t be quick, they’d need to be assessed.

“We’re not short of carers but we do need more to work with adolescents,” he added.

There are now 20 young people already settled in Bradford meaning there are 73 more to come but those here are doing “very well” said Cllr Slater.

“Although a lot of them have gone through trauma, they are not troublesome children.

"In fact, they are highly motivated, getting good exam results.”

The process starts with Bradford Council getting two weeks’ notice before a child is allocated by the Home Office.

That time will be used to find a place for them to live, to allocate a social worker, organise an interpreter if necessary and to gather as much information as possible although many will not have documents.

The child will be age-assessed and health checks will follow, including screening for blood-borne viruses.

Mr Hopkinson said: “We want to take these children in at the right pace so we can give them the quality services they need to get the best outcomes for them.

“I don’t think we’ll end up in a position where we are taking in children when we’re not ready.”

A top priority will be to get the young person into education at the earliest opportunity and Bradford College has been included in talks about providing English language classes.

“At this moment in time it’s not likely to affect schools. It’s more further education colleges we are looking to have those conversations with,” said Mr Hopkinson.

“The real pressure for school places is at the start of primary, not secondary.

“There is capacity in the post 16 sector. If that’s anyone’s way of thinking, no one needs to worry about losing school places, we can give that assurance.”

Talks have also been continuing with housing associations about providing the funded supported lodgings which will be spread out across the city rather than be concentrated in one area and discussions are ongoing with charities and voluntary agencies about providing vital legal advice, possibly a one-stop shop.

Once the children become 18 the Home Office will decide their future status.

It is possible their residency could be made permanent, be for a fixed period, or even declined and they would be removed from the UK.

Cllr Slater said: “It seems ironic to take them in and then to say goodbye but that’s not our decision. It will be the Home Office.”

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