Kent County
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Area | 2258 |
|---|---|
| Population | 648,594 (2017) |
| Largest city | Grand Rapids |
| County seat | Grand Rapids |
| Colleges and universities | Grand Rapids Community College |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 2436129 |
About Kent County
Kent County is a county in the U. S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the county had a population of 602,622. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county was set off in 1831, and organized in 1836.
Why do councils go bust and what happens when they do?
... " We spend 70% of our budget on adult s and children s social care, " says Peter Oakford, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance on Kent County Council...
Ulez expansion: Mayor of London urges councils to 'put their politics aside'
... Sadiq Khan said Surrey and Kent County Councils were " refusing to even allow TfL to install Ulez signage"...
'Routine' housing of child asylum seekers in hotels unlawful, High Court rules
... " He also said Kent County Council was acting unlawfully in failing to accommodate and look after unaccompanied child asylum seekers...
East Kent NHS criticised over new mother herpes deaths
... Mid Kent and Medway coroner, Catherine Wood told the inquest at Kent County Hall: " There is no evidence at all...
Government lacks urgency on climate change, warn advisors
... The committee did praise local governments for innovative climate change preparation, including the work of Kent County Council to help farmers switch their crops to those that will fare better in warmer weather...
Census 2021: 'It took me two years before I realised I was a carer'
... He decided to retire from his job at Kent County Council aged 46 and his colleagues met with the couple to arrange details...
Channel crossings: Dozens of Albanian child migrants go missing
...Almost 20% of unaccompanied child migrants from Albania taken in by Kent County Council this year have disappeared, the BBC has found...
Dover migrant centre: 'Horror' over fire attack
...Dover residents are " horrified" after a fire attack at a Border Force migrant centre at the port, a Kent County councillor says...
'Routine' housing of child asylum seekers in hotels unlawful, High Court rules
By Becky MortonPolitical reporter
The " routine" housing of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in hotels is unlawful, The High Court has ruled.
The Charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT) brought legal action against the Home Office over The Practice .
The High Court Said children could be placed in hotels for " very short periods in true emergency situations" but not " systematically or routinely".
The government had argued hotels were used as a " safety net".
The Home Office and Department For Education had opposed the legal challenge, saying the use of hotels for unaccompanied children was lawful and " a matter of necessity".
More Than 4,600 unaccompanied children have been housed in Home Office hotels since July 2021.
Concerns have been raised after hundreds of children went missing from these hotels, with charities Warning some are being groomed by criminal gangs.
In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Chamberlain Said : " From December 2021 at the latest, The Practice of accommodating children in hotels, outside local authority care, was both systematic and routine and had become an established part of the procedure for dealing with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
" From that point on, the home secretary's provision of hotel accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children exceeded the proper limits of her powers and was unlawful. "
He also Said Kent County Council was acting unlawfully in failing to accommodate and look after unaccompanied child asylum seekers.
" In ceasing to accept responsibility for some newly arriving unaccompanied asylum seeking children, while continuing to accept other children into its care, Kent County Council chose to treat some unaccompanied asylum seeking children differently from and less favourably than other children, because of their status as asylum seekers, " He Said .
, Warning its resources were overwhelmed.
Following this the Home Office decided to house those children in hotels on a temporary basis while they waited to be moved to local authority care.
The Challenge by ECPAT was heard in London alongside similar claims brought by Brighton and Hove City Council and Kent County Council.
Brighton and Hove City Council, which has also seen children go missing from Home Office hotels in its area, welcomed the ruling.
Council leader Bella Sankey Said : " [Home Secretary] Suella Braverman must now urgently enforce this system so that the hotels can be emptied and all local authorities can play their part in safeguarding children. "
The Court heard that earlier this month 154 children remained missing from hotels, including a 12-year-old.
The Judge Said : " Neither Kent County Council nor the home secretary knows where these children are, or whether they are safe or well.
" There is evidence that some have been persuaded to join gangs seeking to exploit them for criminal purposes. "
In response to the ruling, Patricia Durr, chief executive of ECPAT, Said : " It remains a child protection scandal that so many of The Most vulnerable children remain missing At Risk of significant harm as a consequence of these unlawful actions by The Secretary of state and Kent County Council. "
Earlier this year Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told MPs that of 4,600 child asylum seekers who had arrived in the UK since 2021, 440 had Gone Missing and only half had returned.
Asylum seekers are often accommodated in hotels while the Home Office decides whether they can stay in the country but this can be a lengthy process.
The Home Office has Said it wants to cut down on the use of expensive hotels for asylum seekers and refugees, which costs the country around £7m A Day .
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com
