Fifty teenage asylum-seekers are coming to Bournemouth as part of a Home Office pilot scheme.

The youngsters will be provided with accommodation and support from Boscombe-based charity, The International Care Network.

It is hoped that the scheme, which will be funded entirely by the government, will foster better relations between the Borders and Immigration Agency and Social Services.

Dave Parish (pictured), a careworker for 16-18 year-olds at ICN is excited by the project which is scheduled to begin in October:

"All of the people will be males from Afghanistan. This is really exciting for us and the Home Office are fully supportive."

Asylum-seekers under the age of 18 are normally granted discretionary leave to remain until they reach adulthood. During this time they are entitled to state support and Dave Parish beleives it's important to protect a vulnerable group:

"Lots of the lads I meet are very traumatized and the biggest problem is probably how they perceive their own futures. Our emphasis will be on a community style of living."

The ‘Supporting People’ team at Bournemouth Borough Council are the contractors for ICN and are working with them to discuss future funding arrangements:

“At the moment our funding with ICN only runs until the end of October and we’re having lots of discussions with them about the best way to go forward.

They do lots of good work in this area but we have to look at needs and allocation as our budget covers lots of different projects.”

Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality, Liam Byrne, stressed the need for better geographical distribution of refugees and asylum-seekers:

"Currently, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children become the responsibility simply because that is the area where they first arrive.

"The case for rationalising these unplanned arrangements, so that young people are only placed where there are sufficient and adequate services available is overwhelming."

All the parties involved in the scheme are attending ongoing meetings to finalise the arrangements.