KENT'S social services chiefs are blaming a fall in the number of child asylum seekers in Kent for a £5million funding headache.

In a bizarre twist to the long-standing financial problems associated with asylum, Kent County Council has warned Government rules on grants, coupled with the impact of legal rulings, are making it much expensive to deal with unaccompanied minors.

A report to be presented to county councillors says the problems threaten to leave Kent short of nearly £5million.

Unless a bid for extra cash from the Government succeeds, council tax bills may have to rise to meet the huge funding gap.

The bulk of the shortfall – some £4million – is down to complex rules used by the Government’s to estimate how much it costs authorities to deal with unaccompanied minors.

KCC says the grant it gets falls well short of what it needs – and a key reason is that while it is no longer dealing with so many children, its administration and staffing costs have remained the same.

In addition, a legal ruling now means there must be two qualified staff and an intepreter present when social services are assessing claims by unaccompanied minors. Before, the assessment could be done on the phone, keeping down costs.

The report does not disguise the scale of the problem, saying the financial risks are “considerable.”

“The reduction in numbers means that there is insufficient headroom within the grants to accommodate all the legitimate costs of the service…the reducing numbers are now exposing this pressure.”

The authority is now hoping a bid for a special grant given to councils with “special circumstances” will cushion the blow.

But it will not know if that is successful until Autumn next year. As a result, the report warns KCC “will carry outstanding risk and uncertainty considerably beyond the end of the financial year.”

Kent is responsible for looking after about 850 unaccompanied minors but because of its ports, continues to process new arrivals before they are dispersed to other parts of the country.

Cllr Peter Lake, KCC’s cabinet member for social care, said: “This is probably one of the most important reports we have had on this issue. There is a significant funding gap and if we do not get the money from Government, we will have to go back to the people of Kent and ask them to increase the tax bills.”

He criticised ministers for giving explicit assurances that all Kent’s costs would be met and then leaving it in limbo until next year before deciding whether to reimburse the authority.

“It is totally unfair to ask us to set a budget with those assurances and then not tell us ntil next year. That is no way to run a business.”