However, increased security and Covid restrictions have made traditional routes less viable for migrants, and the overall number of people to have claimed asylum in the UK in the 12 months ending this June was 31,115, a four per cent year-on-year fall.

People who cross the Channel to the UK come from the poorest and most vulnerable parts of the world including Yemen, Eritrea, Chad, Egypt, Sudan and Iraq.

Under international law, people have the right to seek asylum in whichever country they arrive, and there is nothing to say they must seek asylum in the first safe country. It is very hard to apply to the UK for asylum unless a person is already in the country.

Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, told the BBC the Government’s decision to compel councils to take unaccompanied children was “important”. He said it “should reduce the unacceptable delays in vulnerable children, who have often experienced great trauma, getting the vital care they need”.

However, local government sources say there are concerns about the funding councils will receive given the financial pressures they are already under.

Cllr James Jamieson, the Conservative leader of the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England, said: “These new arrangements must continue to swiftly take into account existing pressures in local areas.”

Ms Patel criticised Scottish councils in the Commons on Monday for the numbers of children they had taken.

Kelly Parry, an SNP councillor who speaks for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, said they were committed to participating on a voluntary basis and were already providing a “proportionate share” of placements.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are grateful for the continued support of local authorities to provide vital care to vulnerable children, and we continue to keep the National Transfer Scheme under review to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of responsibility across the UK.”