Wigan Council has a statutory duty to make provision for any child in their area who is assessed to be a child in need.

Wigan Council has the same statutory responsibilities to children who are Accommodated under S20 of the Children Act or are Care Leavers.

Wigan Council has a statutory duty to make provision for any child in their area who is assessed to be a child in need. All unaccompanied minors (UASC and non UASC) presenting in Wigan will normally be referred to Social Care Duty Team ( 01942 828300) for assessment and support by virtue of having claimed asylum or due to safeguarding issues.

UASC fall into the category of children in need. Our statutory duties were further defined by the Judicial Review in 2003 (Hillingdon Judgement) which required that all UASC should be Accommodated S20 Children Act 1989. As a result the majority of UASC become entitled to a service as a Care Leaver under the Children's (Leaving Care) Act 2000. This entitles all eligible children to support up to age 21 and possibly 24.

Safeguarding/trafficking

Safeguarding of children arriving in Wigan is a priority for Wigan Safeguarding Children’s Board and the Vulnerable Young Persons Sub Group.
Partners including the police, immigration services and colleagues in our Children’s Social Duty Team who endeavour to safeguard young people who may be victims of trafficking and/or other forms of exploitation.

WSCB has adopted the GM Common Approach on Missing Children, and has developed a process for better identifying children who are missing from education.
Wigan have been working closely with the UK Border Agency (UKBA), who joined the Vulnerable Young Persons Sub Group.

WSCB are delivering extensive multi-agency training on child trafficking. The courses provide practical information about the risks young people face, identification in relation to behaviour, how to over come mistrust from the young person, assessment of risk and planning. It is expected that this training will further strengthen the inter-agency safeguarding work.

Good Practice in Social Care for Asylum Seekers and refugees - PDF Document (854KB)