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1676631

registered interest
date	08/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguarding information his Department collects on unaccompanied children who are seeking asylum.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	6027
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office collects information from individuals seeking asylum for the purpose of progressing asylum claims. When that information affects the type of accommodation an individual may require, that information is also recorded for the purposes of meeting our statutory obligation.</p><p>In respect of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, responsibility to accommodate them sits with the local authority and they are required to collate appropriate safeguarding information for each child in their care.</p><p>All unaccompanied asylum-seeking children receive a welfare interview on arrival in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Young people who were placed in emergency interim hotels which were operated by the Home Office had additional standard information collected from them to ensure that referrals or actions required due to any identified safeguarding concerns or issues could be made, including notifying the relevant local authority.</p><p>Young people in the hotels are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/12/2023 12:23:47 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1676632

registered interest
date	08/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that unaccompanied child asylum seekers are provided healthcare.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	6028
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care. As part of the national transfer scheme, the receiving local authority must provide suitable support for all children being moved into their care, including health care, irrespective of the child’s immigration status.</p><p> </p><p>Asylum seekers have access to health and social care services from the point of arrival in the UK. The Home Office and its contractors work closely with the NHS, local authorities and non-governmental organisations to ensure that people can access the healthcare and support they need.</p><p> </p><p>All accommodation providers, including those who were responsible for the unaccompanied asylum seeking children hotels that were previously set up and run by the Home Office, have a contractual duty to assist people in accessing the health care they need.</p><p> </p><p>The Home Office also operates a Safeguarding Hub to support vulnerable individuals in accessing these services. In addition, the Home Office contracts Migrant Help to provide advice and guidance to asylum seekers should they have an issue with their accommodation or support, and for signposting to health and welfare services. Asylum seekers can access Migrant Help 24/7, every day of the year by a freephone telephone number, via an online chat or completing an email enquiry form both of which can be accessed free of charge on the Migrant Help website. Interpreting and translation services are available through Migrant Help when the need arises for asylum seekers to raise any queries or concerns.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/12/2023 11:25:41 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1676634

registered interest
date	08/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that local authorities have adequate resources to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in their care.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	6030
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>The safety and welfare of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is our utmost priority. We recognise that providing care placements for them is a national issue that requires participation from local authorities across the UK. We continue to work alongside other government departments, devolved administrations, and local authority representatives, to ensure this vulnerable group of children have timely access to the statutory placements that local authorities must provide.</p><p>Local authorities receive funding to support Children’s Social Care through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and finance arrangements which apply to the devolved administrations. In addition, the Home Office also provides funding contributions to the costs incurred by local government in looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and former UASC care leavers.</p><p> </p><p>The Home Office has also introduced our new Incentivised Funding Programme for 2023-24 which provides £6,000 for every unaccompanied child moved within 5 working days either from a UASC hotel, or from Kent County Council.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/12/2023 12:26:22 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1676636

registered interest
date	08/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what processes his Department has in place to help protect unaccompanied children seeking asylum who have been victims of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) sexual exploitation.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	6032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care where they can receive the most appropriate support based on their individual needs.</p><p> </p><p>We had robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people who were temporarily accommodated in Home Office run hotels were safe and supported as we sought urgent placements with a local authority.</p><p> </p><p>Young people were supported by team leaders and support workers who were on site 24 hours a day. Further care was provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites had security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaised closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/12/2023 11:49:06 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1676638

registered interest
date	08/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to locate the unaccompanied children seeking asylum who have gone missing from their accommodation.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	6034
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>The wellbeing of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is our priority. We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no unaccompanied children in hotels and unaccompanied children’s hotel accommodation has been empty since 18 November 2023. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023.</p><p><br> We take the safety of those in our care seriously.  We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels were safe and supported as we sought urgent placements with a local authority.</p><p> </p><p>Police forces are responsible for locating missing children, in their region, in line with standard processes for any missing child in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>When children who were provided with emergency Home Office accommodation went missing the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol was followed. The local authority works with multiple agencies to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe.</p><p> </p><p>Children staying in the Home Office hotels were supported by team leaders and support workers who were on site 24 hours a day. Further care was provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites had security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaised closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 18/12/2023 12:27:55 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1675395

registered interest
date	05/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the correspondence of 5 April 2023 from the Children’s Commissioner to the Secretary of State entitled Statutory information request on Home Office accommodation of children seeking asylum, on how many of the variables listed in the data summary his Department holds data for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Sir Stephen Timms
uin	5146
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2023 answer text <p>In relation to the Children’s Commissioners correspondence, for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) who have been accommodated in hotels, the Home Office holds data on all variables outlined in the ‘data request summary’ excluding variable 8 and 23.</p><p>There were elements of the data requested which were not held in an electronically retrievable form and would have required the manual check of over 5,000 records. The Home Office were unable to provide all of the data as it would have required a high level of manual resource to obtain at a time of high operation demands. The Home Office did reach out to the Children’s Commissioners office in May 2023 to offer an alternative option to enable the commissioner to review children’s records, although this offer was turned down.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 11/12/2023 11:16:58 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1674111

registered interest
date	29/11/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Children’s Commissioner's report entitled Unaccompanied children in need of care published November 2023, for what reasons his Department did not return the information requested by the Commissioner on whether (a) safeguarding referrals were made and (b) healthcare support was received; and if he will provide this information for the 5,298 children housed in hotels between July 2021 and May 2023.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	4384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2023 answer text <p>For those young people determined to be under 18 who have entered the UK without a parent or guardian, we will endeavour to place them with a local authority as soon as possible after their entry into the country. For young people placed in emergency interim hotels, safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure they are safe and supported whilst we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.</p><p> </p><p>The Home Office have confirmed the completion of the required Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children’s Commissioner’s report. However there has been some delay in agreeing the final version. Further more, there are elements of the data which have been requested that are not in electronically retrievable form. The Home Office will not be able to provide the data as it would require a high level of manual resource to obtain.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 08/12/2023 12:49:49 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1674112

registered interest
date	29/11/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take legislative steps to remove the power for his Department to accommodate children in the Illegal Migration Act 2023.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	4385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2023 answer text <p>The Illegal Migration Act received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023. The Act seeks to ensure the only way to come to the UK for protection will be through safe and legal routes and will take power out of the hands of the criminal gangs and protect vulnerable people, including children.</p><p> </p><p>Following the High Court ECPAT judgment and Supreme Court judgment on Rwanda, the Government is carefully reflecting on commencement of the powers in the Act, including those relating to the accommodation and transfer of unaccompanied children.</p><p> </p><p>These powers have not yet been commenced and a decision will be made in due course. The Act does not change a local authority’s statutory obligations to children from the date of arrival and that the best place for an unaccompanied child is in the care of a local authority. This is something the Government was consistently clear about during the Illegal Migration Act’s passage through Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 08/12/2023 12:51:03 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1674155

registered interest
date	29/11/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker children have been (a) wrongly assessed to be above eighteen and (b) housed in accommodation with adults in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
tabling member printed	Emma Hardy
uin	4512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2023 answer text <p>These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 08/12/2023 12:58:10 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4645 label Biography information for Emma Hardy

1667938

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children that have gone missing from hotels are unaccounted for as of 7 November 2023.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
uin	272
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2023 answer text <p>UASC hotels are temporary accommodation that provide safeguarding for a child until they are ready to be transferred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.</p><p>The Home Office has put in place further funding throughout 2023-24 of £6,000 for every unaccompanied child moved from a UASC hotel to a local authority within five working days to encourage quicker transfers into local authority care.</p><p>We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.</p><p>The data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.</p><p>The most recent published data can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (<a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CClaire.Hartley%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C917633f0fc5f45dc98e508dbe038d387%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638350306886195730%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6ZFH4e9RMP4wRKUp%2FVg7D1%2BVXyH5BYIe3Qcgh3iM730%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>).</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 13/11/2023 17:08:38 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss