Pair of refugee children found wandering along busy motorway alone
The children are believed to have been dropped off by traffickers or had been hidden in lorries before they were found on the M606
TWO refugee children have been found wandering along a busy motorway, taken in by local authorities who admit they have no idea where the children came from.
It is now believed that the teenagers, who were found on two separate occasions, may have been dropped off by traffickers or had been hidden in lorries before jumping out.
The pair were found within three weeks of each other.
The pair are now expected to be cared by the Bradford City Council as part of an agreement with the Home Office, with the city agreeing to house 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 had to help - It was our moral duty.
"They are children and, in all conscience, with them having been found so close to our city, we could not ignore them."
She said children appearing generally tended to be "more of a problem at ports or near lorry parks".
She said it was not clear where the children had come from but Bradford had committed to taking in the requested number of migrant children.
She said: "Every single local authority has been asked by the Home Office to take in 0.07 per cent of its young population and the Home Office has agreed to meet all the costs. Bradford will take no more and no less than any other local authority.”
It is unclear how old the pair are.
They are children and, in all conscience, with them having been found so close to our city, we could not ignore them.
Councillor Val Slater
Cllr Slater said: "Although a lot of them have gone through trauma - they are not troublesome children."
They will join the 20 young people already settled in Bradford, with another 73 expected.
But Jim Hopkins, the Council's deputy director of children's social care, said the council had so far only agreed to take in 16 and 17-year-olds.
The council will receive about £31,000 per child a year from the government with Hopkins saying it was a "fair amount".
He said: "The council is not worried or fazed about it and 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.
"It should not be an additional burden to Bradford."
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He said the decision to take in older teenagers for the city had been made as the city had the capacity to properly care for the youngsters.
He said: "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."
He said the council would receive two weeks' notice before a child was allocated to the town by the Home Office.
The time line would allow for a social worker to be allocated, to find an interpreter if necessary and to gather as much information as possible.
Children taken in would also have their health checked, 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."
The discovery of the youngsters comes after two Afghanistan boys were found near Blackburn last month.
The boys, aged eight and nine, were found more than 4000 miles from their home country of Afghanistan
Bradford College has been involved in discussions to provide English classes for the incoming students while ongoing talks have been taking place to ensure lodgings and legal advice would be available.
Once children turn 18, their status will be decided by the Home Office - with their residency potentially becoming permanent or declined.
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