Commentary on provisions of the Act Section 17: Transfer of children from Secretary of State to local authority and vice versa
This section facilitates the transfer of an unaccompanied migrant child from accommodation, which the Secretary of State has the power to provide or arrange to provide under section 16, to a local authority in England. These powers do not apply to unaccompanied migrant children outside of the scope of the duty to make arrangements for removal and do not apply to those aged 18 and over.
	The section provides a mechanism for the Secretary of State to decide that a child is to cease residing in such accommodation and to then direct a local authority in England to provide accommodation to the child under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 after five working days of the direction being made. The Secretary of State may also apply this power to direct a local authority in England to cease looking after an unaccompanied migrant child and to transfer a child into Home Office provided accommodation after five working days of the direction being made. This power can also be used where the child has not previously been in Home Office provided accommodation, for example where they first entered a local authority care placement upon arrival to the UK.
	This power will enable the Secretary of State to transfer a child quickly into local authority care in England if that child is in Home Office accommodation. This power does not apply to transfers where the unaccompanied child is a looked after child in the care of one local authority and that local authority seeks to transfer that child to another local authority.
	Transfers between Home Office accommodation and local authority accommodation will be managed operationally as part of an updated National Transfer Scheme ("NTS") which currently manages the movement of unaccompanied migrant children between local authorities. All local authorities with children's services in the UK have been directed to participate in the NTS. These new powers are enforceable through the courts.