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1696571

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 15 March (HL2855), how long each of the 118 unaccompanied children seeking asylum have been missing; and what are the individual ages of the 18 children now under the age of 18 who are still missing.
	tabling member printed	Lord Scriven
	uin	HL3328
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>This data has not previously been published and quality assured to that standard. We are unable to provide it in response to this question.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 03/04/2024 12:48:14 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4333 label Biography information for Lord Scriven

1693842

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2024
	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 assessment his Department has made of the needs of an unaccompanied minor placed in the care of a local authority; and what assessment his Department has made of the ability of local authorities to meet those needs.
	tabling member constituency	Darlington
	tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
	uin	17195
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2024 answer text <p>Local authorities have a statutory duty under S20 of the Children Act 1989 to look after children in need in their area. This includes unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children who either arrive in a local authority area or are transferred there under the mandated National Transfer Scheme. The National Transfer Scheme provides a mechanism for the statutory responsibility for an UAS child to be transferred from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.</p><p>The decision for any UAS child to be referred to the NTS for transfer lies with the local authorities as the child’s corporate parent. The NTS Protocol sets out the criteria for referring a child to the NTS which can be found here: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Funaccompanied-asylum-seeking-children-interim-national-transfer-scheme&amp;data=05%7C02%7CASRA-briefingcorrespondence%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C49fe4aeb9651414d4afa08dc3de1a83c%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638453286591981059%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=%2FD0M2X%2BLgQ6tXtguN%2B%2FsxR3eBL%2BPXSMAS9fs6kRW%2B1w%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: national transfer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p>When a child is being looked after by a local authority, that local authority is under a duty to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare under the Children Act 1989.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 13/03/2024 17:54:22 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1693844

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2024
	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 much and what proportion of the cost of caring for an unaccompanied minor asylum seeker with special needs who has been placed in the care of a local authority is paid for by his Department.
	tabling member constituency	Darlington
	tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
	uin	17197
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2024 answer text <p>In addition to money for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement and finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to the costs incurred by local government in looking after unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children and former UAS childcare leavers.</p><p>Local authorities supporting the greatest number of UAS children relative to their child population receive the higher rate of £143 per child per night for each UAS child.  This higher rate applies to local authorities supporting UAS children totalling 0.07% or greater of their general child population.  All other local authorities receive £114 per person per night for each UAS child in their care.   In addition, any local authority who accept the responsibility for a UAS child from a higher rate receiving local authority will receive the higher rate of £143 per child per night. This funding is not ring-fenced, and local authorities are free to use this funding as they see fit to support children in their care.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 13/03/2024 17:53:57 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1693617

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	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 report entitled A re-inspection of the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, published by his Department in February 2024, what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) safety and (b) welfare of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	16978
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2024 answer text <p>Since the two ICIBI inspections in 2022 and 2023, the Home Office has taken positive steps with our partners which has resulted in the closure of all 7 hotels for UAS children. The Home Office has provided details of its formal response to the recommendations and had already progressed activity linked to those recommendations prior to the hotels closing.</p><p>On both occasions of inspection, the ICIBI found that the children accommodated at the interim hotels reported they felt ‘happy and safe’ and spoke well of the staff caring for them.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 16977 question first answered 12/03/2024 12:07:53 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1692614

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2024
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied children seeking asylum who were housed in Home Office hotels are still missing; and what is the breakdown of (1) ages, and (2) length of time missing, for those children.
	tabling member printed	Lord Scriven
	uin	HL2855
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2024 answer text <p>We take any child going missing extremely seriously. When any child goes missing, a multi-agency missing persons protocol is mobilised. Many of those who have gone missing are subsequently traced and located.</p><p>As of 5 March, 118 children are still missing. The majority were aged 16 and 17 when they went missing. Only about 18 are still under the age of 18. It is important to note that this data is from a live operational database and has not been quality assured to the same standard as published data.</p><p>The most recent published data can be found at asylum and resettlement datasets on GOV.UK: (<a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CASRA-briefingcorrespondence%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C1ae9bd8daf954800c35508dc427f0953%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638458360584762407%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=M7YynO6hgRQ4WXv9z7WNDQBrYfo1CfWI0z50DbYBrpE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>).</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 14/03/2024 12:45:17 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4333 label Biography information for Lord Scriven

1685564

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2024
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2024 to Questions 8423 and 8424 on Asylum: Children, for what reason his Department is unable to provide the figures requested.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	11778
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2024 answer text <p>The specific data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured. Additionally, the Home Office does not hold the requested data in a reportable format.</p><p>There are currently no unaccompanied children in hotels. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023 and the last remaining hotel will close on 31 January 2024.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 01/02/2024 12:13:20 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1684779

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2024
	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 children seeking asylum were in Home Office hotel accommodation as of 24 January 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
	tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
	uin	11353
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2024 answer text <p>As of the 24 January 2024, there were no children accommodated in the remaining UASC hotel.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 29/01/2024 17:23:19 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss

1684484

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2024
	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 refugee children were wrongly assessed to be adults by the Home Office between January 2022 and June 2023; and if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by the Refugee Council together with Helen Bamber Foundation and Humans for Rights Network entitled Forced Adulthood, published on 23 January 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	11046
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office does not publish the data requested, as this cannot currently be collected via national reporting systems. Our published data on age assessment can be accessed <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets" target="_blank">here</a> which includes the number of age disputes raised and resolved. and whether the decision found the individual to be under or over 18.</p><p>Our age assessment policies for immigration purposes seek to protect genuine minors and identify those who are adults. Determining the age of a young person is an inherently difficult task and therefore, the age assessment process for immigration purposes contains a number of safeguards.</p><p>Where a new arrival does not have genuine documentary evidence of their age and their claimed age is doubted, an initial age decision is conducted as a first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure that new arrivals are routed into the correct accommodation and processes for assessing their asylum or immigration claim.</p><p>The Home Office will only treat an individual claiming to be a child as an adult, without conducting further enquiries, if two Home Office members of staff independently determine that the individual's physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggests they are significantly over 18 years of age. The lawfulness of this process was endorsed by the Supreme Court in the case of R (on the application of BF (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 38.</p><p>Where doubt remains and an individual cannot be assessed to be significantly over 18, they will be treated as a child for immigration purposes until further assessment of their age by a local authority.</p><p>The Home Office is currently considering the contents and recommendations of the report by the Refugee Council together with Helen Bamber Foundation and Humans for Rights Network entitled Forced Adulthood, published on 23 January 2024.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 31/01/2024 12:45:22 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1680352

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2024
	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 children seeking asylum have spent at least one night in hotel accommodation provided by the Home Office in the last 3 months.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	8423
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2024 answer text <p>The High Court has upheld that local authorities have a statutory duty to care for UASC. We have always maintained that the best place for unaccompanied children to be accommodated is within a local authority. The High Court recently noted that improvements, plus impressive collaboration between the Home Office and Kent County Council, has led to a significant fall in the number of lone children being accommodated in hotels.</p><p>Since 18 November 2023, the one remaining hotel in Kent has remained empty. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 8424 question first answered 11/01/2024 17:50:05 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1680353

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2024
	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 children seeking asylum were placed in hotel accommodation by the Home Office in the last three months, broken down by number of nights spent in that accomodation.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	8424
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2024 answer text <p>The High Court has upheld that local authorities have a statutory duty to care for UASC. We have always maintained that the best place for unaccompanied children to be accommodated is within a local authority. The High Court recently noted that improvements, plus impressive collaboration between the Home Office and Kent County Council, has led to a significant fall in the number of lone children being accommodated in hotels.</p><p>Since 18 November 2023, the one remaining hotel in Kent has remained empty. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 8423 question first answered 11/01/2024 17:50:05 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham