THE HOME Office is to be urged to bear more of the cost of looking after young asylum seekers in Oxfordshire.

The cost of helping to care for more than 200 young asylum seekers living in the county is spelt out in a new Oxfordshire County Council report.

While the Government and its agencies cover the bulk of the £3.5m cost of caring for asylum seekers in the county, Oxfordshire County Council is still being left with an annual bill of £652,000.

The complicated funding arrangements mean that Government funding covers the costs of adult asylum seekers and families. But the cost of looking after the most vulnerable group, unaccompanied children, must be met by the local council.

The issue has become more pressing at County Hall, which is anxiously looking for savings within its budget for children, young people and families.

A financial report submitted to the county council cabinet says: "The asylum seekers budget represents a high financial risk for 2007/8." It says there was a £291,000 overspend last year, despite a continuing reduction in the number of new asylum seekers.

Andy Cauldrick, head of the young people and families directorate at County Hall, said: "These unaccompanied adults are not economic migrants.

"They are children who have suffered extreme deprivation and trauma. Some have witnessed killings."