MORE lone asylum-seeking children were being cared for by the council in Bradford this year, new figures show.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children often present themselves at points of entry into the country in their own right and are separated from their parents or any other responsible adult.

Figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show there were 52 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Bradford being cared for by the council as of March 31 – an increase from 44 the year before.

It follows the overall trend in England, where the number of lone child asylum seekers rose by almost a third.

This year there were 7,290 looked-after children who were unaccompanied child asylum seekers, compared to 5,670 the year before.

The department said it also marked a 42 per cent increase on pre-pandemic 2019 figures.

Paul Carberry, chief executive at Action for Children, said: "We need to see a clear shift from the current system. That means urgent cash from central government and a fire lit under its social care reform plans.

"It must ensure proper funding for early help services to reduce the numbers of children going into care, better support for those leaving care to return home so they don’t end up back in the care system, and improved standards of care.

"This approach will not only benefit those children and their future life chances, but also the taxpayer, who is currently footing the bill for an expensive and broken care system."

The figures show unaccompanied child asylum seekers made up nine per cent of all looked-after children. In Bradford, they made up three  per cent of children being cared for.

A spokesperson for Bradford Children and Families Trust said: “Whilst the numbers of asylum-seeking children in Bradford have increased, it is still just a very small percentage of children in care across the district.

“As a Trust our focus is on ensuring all those children in our care are safe and supported to be able to realise their full potential.”

Unaccompanied child asylum seekers across England were generally older, with just 14 per cent under 16 years old. The majority - 96 per cent - were male.

A DfE spokesperson said: "Every child deserves a safe and secure home, no matter their background, and local authorities have a responsibility to provide appropriate support for all children in their care.

"We are supporting them by improving the recruitment of foster carers and increasing the number of places available locally in both secure and open children’s homes."