Issue details

Proposed decision –

 

The Leader of the Council:

 

1. Approve the acceptance of Home Office grant funding for the Afghan Resettlement Schemes (ARAP and ACRS) and the United Kingdom Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and to determine the appropriate delivery model.

2.    Agree to Kent County Council continuing to be the ‘Lead Recipient’ for the Home Office grant for all districts in Kent with the exception of Ashford, Canterbury and individuals resettled to the Ministry of Defence and Local Authority Housing Fund properties in Dover. 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

 

Following a meeting of Kent Leaders on 23 September 2015 and KCC on 22 October 2015 it was proposed that KCC would work with district housing leads to determine the best way to set up the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) in Kent. It was subsequently agreed that KCC should co-ordinate a service in partnership with those districts that wished to take part. At the time, this involved all the districts in Kent with the exception of Ashford and Canterbury who manage their own schemes. Since then, KCC’s Refugee Resettlement Team and the Kent housing authorities have been working in partnership to resettle refugees through a number of government schemes and programmes including the following:

 

·       Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) (2015 – 2021) In early 2021 the number of individuals resettled under the VPRS nationally exceeded 20,000, the original target for 2020. It has helped those in the greatest need, including people requiring urgent medical treatment, survivors of violence and torture, and women and children at risk. Although the VPRS officially ended in 2021, it merged seamlessly into the UKRS, an almost identical scheme to the VPRS but which resettles refugees from anywhere in the world. Legacy cases are still being supported by the programme.

 

·       The UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) which started in March 2021.  Its purpose is to resettle vulnerable refugees in need of protection from a range of regions of conflict and instability across the globe. This scheme replaced the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and was intended for use by any refugee group identified by UNHCR requiring resettlement and fulfilling the criteria of the scheme.  Numbers resettled under this scheme are based on local authority capacity.

 

·       The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), opened in January 2022, and aimed to resettle more than 5,000 people in the first year and up to 20,000 over the coming years.  The scheme prioritises:

 

o   Those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law.

o   Vulnerable people, including women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups at risk (including ethnic and religious minorities and LGBTQ+)

The scheme has three pathways.

·       The Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which launched on 1 April 2021, for Afghan citizens who worked for or with the UK Government in Afghanistan in exposed or meaningful roles and deemed eligible by the Ministry of Defence for relocation to the UK and deemed suitable for relocation by the Home Office.

 

·       Community Sponsorship Scheme (2016-) KCC’s Refugee Resettlement Team give approval, advice, and guidance only.

 

The Homes for Ukraine Scheme is currently delivered by a separate team in Kent County Council.

 

The housing authorities are responsible for deciding on the number of families to be resettled in their areas and on whether specific properties meet the statutory requirements. In ten of the twelve districts, KCC then provides coordination and liaison with the Government resettlement team and also commissions and oversees the resettlement and integration support from three commissioned providers and more recently provide specialist targeted support in areas such as housing, ESOL and complex cases.  The two exceptions are Ashford and Canterbury who provide the support from within their own housing and community teams.

 

Dover District Council (DDC) deliver the Afghan schemes to families in Dover matched to the Ministry of Defence properties they are leasing and their Local Authority Housing Fund properties. KCC continue to coordinate the delivery of the resettlement schemes to all other families in Dover.

 

Resettlement support should be provided to support families to move towards independence. Beneficiaries receive intensive support for the first 12-months after their arrival in the UK, through the provision of initial reception arrangements, and access to accommodation, casework support, education (incl. language skills), health care, and social care.  Support at a lower level is extended for Refugees for up to five years after first arrival in the UK for those arriving under the UKRS scheme and up to 3 years for those arriving under the Afghan schemes.All the schemes allow those eligible to bring their immediate family with them and also confer full rights to work, study, rent, claim benefits and other public funds.

 

Requirements around provision of accommodation, support and resettlement outcomes are set out in Home Office Funding Instructions issued annually. 

 

All the above schemes operate on a self-financing basis using ring-fenced funding received from Government which means that they do not rely on direct KCC financial support. Financially, the programme therefore aims to be cost neutral.

 

As a result of the recent General Election, we have a new ministerial team and we may see some change in policy.

 

 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

 

1)    Do Nothing. The current contracts will end on the 31^stJanuary 2025 and alternative provision for the existing refugee families will have to be sought until their time on the schemes comes to an end. If not, there is a risk of particularly vulnerable families who are not yet integrated, independent or self-sufficient falling through the net, becoming an added burden to local services.

 

Resettlement through ‘safe and legal’ routes continues to be a critical tool for refugees who face specific or urgent risks. Given the national expectation that all regions will contribute, it is anticipated that activity to support refugees will be a significant long-term area of work and focus for the Kent County Council and the District/Borough Councils going forward.

 

2)    Recommission using the existing multiple provider commissioning model. The review of our current service delivery highlighted the disadvantages of using multiple commissioned providers to deliver the programme.

 

Each delivery model option was assessed using the same set criteria. The criteria and weighting were developed in relation to the scheme criteria, review of the current delivery model, consultation on our delivery model with key stakeholders, review of other refugee resettlement delivery models and analysis of key risks. This delivery model option scored the least against the assessment criteria and so was discounted.

 

How the proposed decision supports the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

 

The proposed decision supports the key priority ‘Infrastructure for communities’ within the ‘Framing Kent’s Future (2022-26)’, under which is states that we will ‘continue to coordinate Government-sponsored refugee resettlement programmes including those for Syrian, Afghan

and Ukrainian nationals and support them to settle into Kent’s communities’.

 

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future 2022 -2026: Securing Kents Future - Budget Recovery Strategy.pdf

 

The proposed decision in compliant with and supports the ‘Securing Kent’s Future - Budget Recovery Strategy’. Financially, the programme aims to be cost neutral.All the schemes operate on a self-financing basis using ring-fenced funding received from Government which means that they do not rely on direct KCC financial support. There is no call on KCC or district main budgets and to date (since the beginning of the scheme in Kent in December 2015) spending on the scheme has not exceeded the available funds. It appears in the KCC Budget as a “net nil” budget.

 

A key requirement of either an in-house or recommissioned service is that it would need to provide value for money, maximising the impact of each pound spent to meet required outcomes for service users.

 

Financial Implications

 

KCC receives grant funding from the Home Office to cover all costs associated with the Refugee Resettlement Programme.The funding for both the UKRS and the two Afghan schemes is essentially the same, except for the fact that the UKRS funding is spread over five years whereas for the ARAP and ACRS schemes it is spread over 3 years. Funding is therefore phased over a 3 to 5 year period as each refugee family arrives in the UK and is settled in Kent.

 

The level of funding for the schemes has remained fairly consistent over the past few years. However, the level of overall funding for the programme is dependent on our ability to secure suitable properties and local authorities’ acceptance of new refugee families. Funding is paid on a per person basis, therefore the amount of funding available to the refugee resettlement programme is based on the number of people that arrive. Funding is only paid on arrival, and so if people do not arrive at the expected rates or properties are not available, the flow of funding is disrupted (or could stop completely).

 

Due to the uncertainty surrounding how many families will be resettled, it is very difficult to predict the future funding of the programme (if funding pauses or stops, the budget will gradually deplete).

 

The value of the grant funding for 2025 - 2026 (based on existing families and expected arrivals) is likely to be in the region of £1.1 – £1.9 million, with the possibility of an increased value of about £0.26 million for every five new families resettled.

 

Under a recommissioned model, payments would be made based on the number of actual families accommodated. This structure of payments will help to mitigate the risk of paying for suspension of arrivals.

 

If the delivery of all elements of the service are moved in-house, increased staffing commitments will bring associated cost risks in relation to redundancy. Staffing levels will need to flex up and down in line with the service requirements.

 

The Home Office grant is subject to claw back if it is not spent in accordance with the grant terms and conditions.

 

Legal Implications  

 

Those arriving on the schemes are granted long-term immigration status upon arrival and have permission to work and entitlement to mainstream statutory services and support. The funding for the schemes is in respect of Local Authority’s cost in fulfilling its statutory duties. Funding provided must not be used for any purpose other than achieving delivery of the schemes outcomes as detailed in the Funding Instructions.

 

The Council owes a number of existing legal duties to arriving adults and children. These duties exist pursuant to a number of pieces of legislation that apply to Children and Adults.

 

If the service is recommissioned, the procurement process will adhere to The Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2015 and Kent County Councils own Procurement Policy ‘Spending the Council’s Money’.

Legal advice on The Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) has been sought.

   

Equalities implications

 

The basis of the scheme (bringing vulnerable refugees to resettle in the UK), settling them in specific locations that, as far as possible, reflect their needs and, further, the way the scheme operates in Kent to assess and meet individual needs (many of which are based on the protected characteristics) means that the equality needs of individual are met in as thorough way as possible. The service delivery model will take account of these needs, experience to date managing the scheme and consultation with refugees and partners.

 

The equalities impact assessment indicates there will be potential impacts but that these are minimal, and sufficiently off-set by mitigation. 

 

The EQIA shall be kept under constant review and updated in relation to the delivery model being implemented.

 

Data Protection implications

 

DPIAs will be completed alongside a successful recommissioning process or on implementation of an in-house model.