Startling new data has revealed that close to 30,000 lone asylum-seeking boys have been taken into the care of British local authorities over the past five years, placing an immense and costly strain on the nation's social care system and raising urgent questions about their welfare and integration.
A System Under 'Immense Pressure'
According to Department for Education statistics, 29,570 unaccompanied asylum-seeking boys were placed into care between April 2020 and March 2025. This figure dwarfs the 1,640 girls recorded over the same period, with the overwhelming majority of these children being aged 16 or 17.
As of March 2025, there were 6,540 unaccompanied child asylum seekers (UASCs) living in England, of whom 5,880 were boys over 16. Housing these children comes at a significant cost to the taxpayer, with the Home Office paying local councils £143 per child per night. This resulted in a bill of approximately £935,220 for accommodation across England in the last year alone.
The initial burden falls heavily on Kent, where most small boat arrivals first land. Kent County Council has stated it is under "immense pressure" and is "almost at capacity." Council leader Linden Kemkaren emphasised that the authority should "not be out of pocket for fulfilling our statutory duties."
Funding, Dispersal and Tragic Failures
To alleviate pressure on Kent, the government operates a National Transfer Scheme, offering financial incentives to other councils. Manchester, Liverpool, and Telford have become key hotspots for housing transferred children. Incentives include £10,000 for a transfer within two working days.
However, the system faces profound challenges. Campaigners warn that many arrivals destroy identification documents to falsely claim to be under 18. Home Office statistics show the number of asylum seekers found to be lying about their age has spiralled from 224 in 2014 to over 1,000 recently.
A damning illustration of potential safeguarding failures occurred earlier this month, when two Afghan teenage boys, both 17, were jailed for the abduction and rape of a 15-year-old girl in Leamington Spa, Warwick. Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal had arrived in Dover on small boats as unaccompanied minors just months before the horrific attack in May and were living in taxpayer-funded supported accommodation.
The judge said the pair had "betrayed" those who come to Britain lawfully. Neighbours living near the properties listed in court documents expressed shock and disgust, with one stating, "It is not fair that the taxpayer pays for these children to live in our neighbourhoods and this is how they behave."
Missing Children and a System in Crisis
Further grave concerns have been raised about children vanishing from care. A report last month revealed that 1,501 lone child asylum seekers in council care across the UK were reported missing in 2024. Of 2,335 children identified as trafficked or suspected of being trafficked, 864 went missing.
Patricia Durr, CEO of Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK, said these children are "consistently let down by the systems meant to support them."
The crisis is compounded by systemic data failures. A recent National Audit Office report found the Home Office has no complete data on how many asylum seekers have absconded, prompting Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp to warn the department has "likely lost track of thousands." The NAO also found that of 5,000 asylum claims tracked from January 2023, only 9% had resulted in deportation by September 2025.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times... We provide additional funding to help local councils meet the costs of caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children."
