The UK is fully committed to transferring the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 as soon as possible<\/p>
As part of the Sandhurst Treaty, signed between the UK and France on 18 January 2018, we committed to deploying a UK Liaison Officer to France by 1 April 2018 to facilitate cooperation on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. We already have secondees based in Italy and Greece working on transfers of unaccompanied children to the UK under both the Dublin Regulation and section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.<\/p>
However, as set out in our published policy statement, it is for France, Greece and Italy to refer potentially eligible children under section 67 of the Immigration Act as the children are on their territory. The UK must operate within the national laws of our partner countries.<\/p>
In addition, after extensive discussion with France, Greece and Italy, we have agreed to amend the eligibility date on an exceptional basis to ensure we can transfer the circa. 260 remaining unaccompanied children and meet our obligation under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. The Government had previously insisted on the previous eligibility date of 20 March 2016 to avoid establishing an open-ended relocation scheme from Europe, as this would increase the pull factor that puts children\u2019s lives at risk.<\/p>
The UK and France share a special relationship and have a strong track record of cooperating with France to manage migration and to protect our shared border. The primary responsibility for refugees and migrants lies with the authorities of the country in which they are present. France has many of the same international obligations towards those on its territory as the UK, and President Macron has made clear that French authorities should behave in an exemplary manner.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4311", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Williams of Trafford"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-01-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "HL5046"} , {"_value" : "HL5047"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-01-29T16:50:21.53Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-01-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Refugees: Children"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what extra funding and human resources they are providing to ensure that children eligible under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 are transferred to the UK without delay.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4548", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Sheehan"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Sheehan"} ], "uin" : "HL5045"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/679331", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/679331/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
On 22 December, Department for Communities and Local Government Officials wrote to Local Authority Chief Executives in London, Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Hampshire and Local Resilience Forum Chairs in London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, to request support for contingency plans aimed at minimising disruption for passengers as a result of the industrial action affecting Southern rail train services, in particular the ASLEF strike planned for the week commencing 9th<\/sup> January.<\/p> <\/p> The Government has not provided additional funding to local authorities specific to the request from the Department for Communities and Local Government for support to minimise disruption as a result of strikes on Southern Rail and were not asked for funding.<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what funding they have provided to support local authorities asked by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 22 December 2016 to take action to support contingency plans to minimise disruption as a result of strikes on Southern Rail.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/444847", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "The Lord Chairman of Committees"}
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, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2079", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Laming"}
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, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/579", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222704", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222704/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " We share the view of the UN Human Rights Council that Argentina is not a human rights country of concern. We take note of recent assessments of Argentina\u2019s human rights record by Human Rights Watch (World Report 2015) and Amnesty International (2014/15 International Report), which acknowledge progress in some areas such as Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgende rights, but urge improvements in others, for example the rights of women and indigenous peoples. Human Rights Watch also reported ongoing concerns about threats to freedom of expression. We will follow developments in these areas closely<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3474", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns"}
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, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Argentina.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark"}
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