THE number of lone child asylum-seekers in England has risen by almost a third in a year, latest government figures show.

There were 7,290 looked-after children as of the end of March who were unaccompanied child asylum-seekers, the Department for Education (DfE) revealed today.

This is up 29 per cent since 2022, a rise of 1,630 — and a 42 per cent increase on pre-pandemic 2019 figures, the department said.