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UASC Reform Programme
Analysis and UNDERSTANDING of UASC SUPPORT COSTS
Information for Preparing Costs Template
UNDERSTANDING UASC SUPPORT COSTS
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose of this document
The UK Border Agency wants to work with local authorities to deliver key changes to the way care and support is delivered to Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in line with the findings from the extensive consultation that was carried out in 2008.
The purpose of this document is to develop an understanding of the realistic costs of delivering care and support to the young people, so that central and local government can work together to deliver a better model for support.
This document provides an overview of how we would like you to structure and submit the costs breakdown for your region (or local authority). We will use this information to enter into further discussions with you regarding the establishment of a better working model.
1.2 Background Information
The UASC Reform Programme was established to deliver policy improvements to the immigration and support arrangements for UASC - developing a better, more integrated system that gets the balance right between the need to protect and safeguard the welfare of UASC while they are in the UK and the need to manage migration sensibly. The policy objectives behind the proposed improvements are explained in a number of key reforms set out in “Better Outcomes: The Way Forward - Improving The Care Of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children”: These reforms are:
Key Reform 1 - ensuring that the UKBA, in exercising its functions, will keep children safe from harm while they are in the United Kingdom
Key Reform 2 - putting in place better procedures for identifying and supporting asylum seeking children who are the victims of trafficking
Key Reform 3 - locating unaccompanied asylum seeking children with specialist local authorities to ensure they receive the services they need
Key Reform 4 - putting in place better procedures to assess age in order to ensure children and adults are not accommodated together
Key Reform 5 - resolving immigration status more quickly and enabling care planning to focus on integration or early return to the country of origin.
The implementation of these reforms is progressing at different rates. Reforms 3, 4 and 5 are especially dependent on central and local government working together to establish the specialist model of support. As is well known, it has been difficult to make this happen - partly because of uncertainty about costs (which this paper, in part, is designed to address) and partly because of uncertainty about a number of important issues that will affect the shape of the specialist model and possibility influence local authorities in choosing to express an interest in becoming specialists in UASC support. Some of these matters are:
The Front End of the Process and Case Transfer.
A possible outcome of the reform process is that some local authorities, especially those near to the main ports of arrival, will take on the primary role of assessment - preparatory to transferring responsibility for the care of the young people to other UASC specialist authorities elsewhere in the UK for longer term placement and care. We do not wish to be prescriptive about how these arrangements would work in practice. These would need to reflect local conditions and be agreed once it is clearer where the specialist authorities are to be located.
What is clear, however, is all specialists will need to have facility to receive and assess some UASC (e.g. the ones that appear first in their localities) and facility to provide longer term care post assessment. This should be reflected in the way that the information required (as explained elsewhere in this paper) is provided. As an example, where it is felt that additional social worker input will be required in the front end assessment stage, thus affecting cost, this should be reflected in the information provided.
Post 18 Support for Care Leavers
For the purposes of providing the cost information sought elsewhere in this paper we ask that you assume that accommodation and subsistence will need to be provided for all UASC care leavers. We are aware that this oversimplifies the position because some care leavers will have access to other public funds (e.g. DWP benefits and housing assistance).
Eligibility to leaving care support is a complex matter that is dependent in part on immigration status. We are currently looking at some legislative and policy changes that will simplify these arrangements and/or transfer the responsibility for providing any necessary support to a portion of the current cohort from local to central government (those that have exhausted the asylum/immigration process and are awaiting removal). We are aware that there needs to be resolution of these matters before local authorities can finally commit to our proposals for a reformed system of UASC support but trust that should not prevent the cost analysis information we are requesting being provided in the interim.
1.3 Current funding arrangements
To date UASC have been supported by the local authority where they first present. UKBA fund each local authority (currently some 140 differing authorities) according to an annually agreed per capita figure (different rates for those under 16 years old and those over 16). Funding claims that exceed these limits are considered on a case by case basis. A separate grant is available for post -18 care leavers.
Although the 2007/8 settlement resulted in all local authority claims being met in full there are long term problems with the way the existing funding mechanism works, principally:
Local authorities do not have assurance that their full costs, reasonably incurred, will be recovered.
UKBA has no certainty about the scale of the funding claims local authorities will make each year.
Small variations in where UASC present (through their own volition or because people smugglers take them there) can have profound implications on support costs. This may because a local authority suddenly has to procure new services to cope with a large influx or, conversely, because a local authority has put in place a costly infrastructure to cope with previously high numbers and cannot dismantle it overnight now that these numbers have reduced.
The lack of a more co-ordinated system of UASC placement means that there is only limited scope to use services where they can be procured at the best value for money.
For these reasons, a good working option, as we have outlined previously, is to enter into longer term contractual arrangements with local authorities on the basis of assured costs for agreed volumes of UASC - underpinned by protocol arrangements to ensure that UASC can be transferred to these authorities in ways that maintain volumes at agreed levels.
2 Scope of INFORMATION REQUIRED
2.1 Overview of Information Required
UKBA are asking you to submit sufficient information to allow us to reach an understanding on the specifics of care being provided and how the relevant costs of support can be met. We would like to consider with you:
An outline which sets out in very broad terms your strategy for the care and support of UASC in your area. A draft strategy should be submitted that gives a flavour of how you look after UASC. This strategy should be no more than 2-3 pages of `bullet-point' headlines that cover any age and needs assessment care components, sourcing accommodation and foster carers, social services input, management structures, quality monitoring mechanisms etc. UKBA will not be “evaluating” your care strategy but will instead want to work with you to understand your operating methods and how they relate to the costs incurred.
A cost analysis that sets out all reasonable costs associated with providing care and support to UASC. This should be based on current costs and attached at Annex A is a spreadsheet indicating where we assume costs will be incurred but it is not intended to be prescriptive or limiting. We would ask you to provide any supporting information you believe is necessary to assure us that the costs you are presenting represent the realistic costs of support. UKBA are committed to meeting the realistic costs of UASC support and to do that we need to know what those costs cover.
Costs can be best presented as a per capita cost per day supported or as a total annual cost of supporting UASC. In both instances we would need to understand any assumptions made regarding the volume of UASC being supported, particularly by age. The traditional split has been for 16/17 years old and under 16 years old however we are open to any alternative proposals you may want to make that would make the costs more relevant to how you deliver services. You should also include post 18 costs as applicable to eligible former UASC.
2.2 UKBA use of this Cost Information
In the first instance we will read and understand the information that has been provided. This may require us to get in touch with individual local authorities or regional groups to ensure we fully understand the data. From this analysis we would want to develop an approach that moves us all forward to a more effective service delivery model.
At some stage we would hope to be able to move to the Specialist Authority model of service provision and if that is possible our intention would be:
To offer Grant Agreements to Specialist Authorities on 5 year terms - this will allow better planning for local authorities
To work with Specialist Authorities through a transition phase where they can build appropriate capacity
To consider any alternative funding models that would a) help the local authority develop the necessary capacity and infrastructure, and b) deliver better value for money
3 TIMETABLE
We have asked the LGA Taskgroup to help us take this data collection exercise forward and your regional representative on that group will have supplied this documentation to you. If you have any queries in the first instance you should liaise with them.
We, the UASC Reform Team, want to work with you in the preparation of this information if we can be of help and we will be happy to meet with your team at any time during the preparation of the data.
To maintain progress we would like the final versions of your cost analysis to be returned to us via your regional representative by Friday 17 July 2009. You may also submit via hard copy or email to:
Jerry Harland
UASC Reform Programme
UK Border Agency
5th Floor
St Anne House
Wellesley Road
Croydon
ANNEX A: Costs Template
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