Kent County Council has put on hold a decision to close one of its reception centres for child asylum seekers as the dismantling of the Calais migrant camp gets underway.

The council had been considering the future for its two reception centres as part of efforts to save money in the face of the rising costs for looking after vulnerable children.

The two centres are the Milbank centre in Ashford and the Swattenden centre in Cranbrook.

In a statement, the county council said:

“Any decision is on hold pending further clarity on the government’s intentions as regards the children currently in Calais.”

The government has indicated it will allow children with family members already in the UK to leave the camp but the process of evaluating claims could be lengthy.

The council says the ongoing impact of looking after so many unaccompanied teenage asylum children and the failure of a government scheme to disperse new arrivals to other areas is costing it millions it cannot afford.

The council’s budget for asylum seekers is overspent by £2.3m and the figure will “inevitably rise” because the government’s voluntary dispersal scheme is failing to keep pace with the rate of arrivals - even though those numbers are slowing.