Now what we need are facts

Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”

Charles Dickens, Hard Times

Kent County Council’s (KCC) invoices over £250, show that across these six service descriptions:

• IFA Asylum U16

• IFA Asylum 16-17

• Rent Accommodation Asylum 18+

• Rent Accommodation Asylum 16-17

• In House Fostering Asylum U16

• In-House Fostering Asylum 16-17

between Jan 2015 through to Nov 2018 (47 months), nearly a million pound a month has been spent to accommodate asylum seekers by KCC. Compare that with the £390 million Adult Social Care costs in 2017/18 alone.

The descriptions were chosen because they remain a constant across KCC’s Invoices over £250, for the longest period of time.

However, what we do not know is the number of of asylum seekers this money has and does pay for.

These figures do NOT reflect the total spent on asylum seekers under 18 or over 18 by KCC. They are just a reflection of six descriptions used continuously by KCC for 47 months. And the actual total spent across these forty seven months is £45,012,422, or an average of £957,711 a month to be exact.

What the figures also show is that as of Sept 2015 (second column), the amount paid out increased significantly and has remained stubbornly high. So what happened in the months leading up to Sept 2015 to cause this significant increase?

We simply do not know. It will not have one cause, it will be a considerable number of factors.

Taking control of our borders will not necessarily reduce those who come to our shores. We believe no political party has the answer to reduce the numbers of refugees/asylum seekers, nor do we. In the meantime, do understand that the amount spent by KCC in the last four years nearly, on the six descriptions as per above, is truly minuscule, when compared to KCC’s Adult Social Care pot of £390 million or its waste management budget of £71 million in 2017/18 alone. We are sure there will be people who might think it is too much and others possibly too little. All we know is “you can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon facts.”

The Shepwayvox Team – Dissent is NOT a Crime.