Up to 14 unaccompanied child asylum seekers are being placed in hotels in the UK every day.
Figures uncovered by the Local Government Association reveal that 3,256 children were housed in hotels between October 2021 and September 2022.
The LGA is calling on the government to help councils to develop more placements for unaccompanied children so they can be moved directly to long-term homes.
The new figures come as hundreds of migrants were moved out of an immigration centre in Kent after concerns that it had become dangerously overcrowded.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the number of migrants at the Manston migrant processing centre had "fallen substantially" on Tuesday, with more expected to be moved on Wednesday.
The situation was described as a "breach of humane conditions" on Monday, with 4,000 people being held at the site ― more than double the number it was designed for.
Andy Baxter, the assistant general secretary of The Prison Officers' Association, who visited the centre more than a week ago, has warned “unrest is spreading” across the camp.
He told Sky News: “Tensions are rising. The population is getting bigger and bigger. There is nowhere to move these people on to. I think eventually we will see a serious breakdown in public order.
“Our members are facing threats from people constantly saying 'what's happening to me? Where am I going? When will I be getting moved on?'."
The exact number to have been relocated has not been confirmed, but Sir Roger Gale, the Conservative MP for the North Thanet constituency which includes Manston, said several hundred had already been moved.
The UK's asylum system has come under increasing strain because of an increase in people arriving on small boats.
The latest official figures show the number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel to the UK this year so far has reached 38,000.
“The root cause of the problem is the sheer number of people choosing to make that dangerous journey, putting immense pressure on our system," Mr Jenrick said.
"We don’t design the system for 50,000 people-plus to cross the Channel illegally, every year.
“And we as a country are struggling to know how to support them because our asylum system was not designed to receive thousands of people every day.”
UK officials say they are spending about £7 million ($8.12m) a day housing asylum seekers in hotels, with the cost expected to rise.
As of October 19, 222 young people who were being accommodated in hotels were missing.
Councillor Louise Gittins, chairwoman of the LGA’s children and young people board, said the issue is "deeply concerning".
“Councils don’t want to see any child placed in a hotel, by government, which is completely unsuitable for unaccompanied children," she said.
"It is deeply concerning and unacceptable that these hotels, which were introduced as a short-term emergency measure, remain in use, especially as the number of children going missing from them continues to grow.
“Despite best efforts, recent changes to the National Transfer Scheme have failed to address the challenges that are preventing councils from placing every child as soon as they arrive. These include a lack of placements, an underfunded system, significant workforce shortages and challenges with age assessment.
“We urgently need a plan to tackle this crisis and to ensure children can move quickly to their permanent placements. This would mean children get swift access to the care and support they need after arriving in the UK following an extremely traumatic journey.
“The forthcoming autumn statement is the ideal opportunity for the Home Office to demonstrate commitment to making the scheme work and ending the use of hotels by fully funding councils to support unaccompanied children, including when they become care leavers.”
The LGA has set out a four-point plan to tackle the issue, including creating a dedicated foster care system for unaccompanied minors, using the Homes for Ukraine scheme to provide supported lodgings for older children.
The government has come under mounting pressure to address the crisis in the asylum system after the scale of overcrowding was revealed at a processing centre in Kent.
Overcrowding there worsened after a petrol bomb attack on a British immigration border force facility in Dover at the weekend.
Mr Jenrick said new hotels were being procured “very rapidly” to address the problem.
But, he said, “more radical measures” may need to be taken.
“I am afraid we now have to look at some more radical options to ensure our laws are appropriate, so that economic migrants are returned swiftly and that we deter people from coming to the UK,” Mr Jenrick told BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday.
“The United Kingdom cannot continue to be a magnet for economic migrants. We simply do not have the infrastructure in this country to manage that."
Home Secretary Suella Braverman caused controversy on Monday when she told MPs that Britain was facing an invasion, language reminiscent of that used by the far right.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
