London Borough of Croydon leader Tony Newman has written to home secretary Sajid Javid pleading for help towards the costs of dealing with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).
In the letter, Newman said that the costs relating to the group, which is screened in the borough, are around £7m a year.
He said no progress had been made on the issue since the council met with government officials in November last year.
He said: “The key issue for us is ensuring there is a fair funding package, and our preferred route for achieving this is that we return to the previous system where our funding was based on a core fixed amount, alongside enhanced daily rates both for UASC and the over-18s we are supporting.”
