Ullensaker municipality is facing multimillion-cost expenditures when children require emergency assistance after landing at Oslo Airport. Some of the children are allegedly said to have fled forced marriages.
This naturally concerns immigration. Four such child welfare cases cost the municipality six million kroner last year, writes Romerikes Blad. This year the bill is expected to reach 7.8 million kroner.
– We have concrete cases that cost the municipality many millions of kroner. It affects the services provided to the inhabitants of Ullensaker, says Tom Staahle, Member of Parliament and parliamentary group leader for the Progress Party (FrP) in Ullensaker.
Staahle points to children who flee back to Norway after having been sent to Qur’an schools or subjected to attempted forced marriage, as well as children whose parents are not capable of caring for them.
The cases concern children without a fixed or permanent connection to the municipality. Nevertheless, the Child Welfare Services in Ullensaker are given responsibility because the situation arises within the municipality’s borders.
– This burdens us far more than ordinary child welfare cases, says Yngve Rønning, Municipal Director for Childhood and Education in Ullensaker municipality.
The stories about what children are subjected to at Qur’an schools in countries such as Somalia are so terrible that one could almost (only almost!) find oneself supporting the radical Islamists in Islam Net, who want to establish Qur’an schools in Norway.
Burde ikke Tonje Brenna heller bekymre seg om Islam Net og koranskoler i Norge?
The Ministry of Children and Families refers to the municipality-of-residence principle in the Child Welfare Act. This leaves responsibility to one municipality, whereby Ullensaker Child Welfare Services must intervene when cases arise at Oslo Airport.
11 million kroner for one child
The Conservative Party (Høyre) is also demanding that the state assume a greater share of the bill.
– The Child Welfare Services must of course handle the cases at the airport, but the state ought to pick up the bill. It burdens our budget quite heavily, says Conservative Party parliamentary group leader Lene Kathrine Håkonsen.
Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen (H) sits in the Storting and has raised the matter with Minister of Children and Families Lene Vågslid (Labour Party, Ap). She asks the minister whether it is reasonable that Ullensaker should bear the costs alone when children arrive in Norway through the country’s largest airport.
– Ullensaker has a particular challenge that I believe the municipality deserves for us to highlight.
Trøen points to one child who had never lived in Ullensaker, but who could have cost the municipality 11 million kroner per year.
The Ministry of Children and Families says that Ullensaker municipality simply has to accept all the problems that arise at Norway’s main airport, since it is located within the municipality. Nor does the government appear willing to provide any compensation for the expenses.