To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations International
Children's Emergency Fund and International Organization for Migration, Refugee and
Migrant Children in Europe Overview of Trends 2017, published on 2 May, and in particular
of the report's findings that (1) in 2017, 32,963 refugee and migrant children arrived
in Europe, of whom over 60 per cent were unaccompanied or separated from their families,
(2) in 2017, 5,000 out of 17,000 unaccompanied children arriving in Italy went missing,
and (3) in Greece, 600 unaccompanied children have been identified as street-homeless
and 2,800 are in unacceptable conditions while awaiting a secure placement.
<p>The Government takes the welfare of unaccompanied asylum seeking children extremely
seriously and is fully committed to helping and supporting the most vulnerable children
affected by the migration crisis.</p><p>The UK provided protection to almost 6,400
children in 2017 and nearly 33,000 since the start of 2010. Of the 15,170 people granted
asylum, protection and resettlement in the year ending September 2018, 6,394 (42%)
were children. The UK currently hosts the fourth highest number of UASC in the EU.</p><p>Children
present in Greece and Italy are under the responsibility of the authorities of the
country where they have arrived, and it would not be appropriate for us to comment
on their actions.</p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the actions which
the other 27 member states of the EU are taking, individually and collectively, to
address the problems faced by child migrants arriving in Europe.
<p>The UK Government takes the welfare of unaccompanied asylum seeking children extremely
seriously, and the UK has a proud history of providing protection for those in need,
including some of the most vulnerable children affected by the migration crisis.</p><p>Whilst
we are unable to comment on the specific actions taken by individual EU Member States,
it is true to say that those States are bound by many of the same international obligations
as the UK.</p><p>The June 2017 European Council conclusions on the protection in children
in migration reaffirmed that the European Union is implementing a comprehensive approach
to manage migration and that the protection of children is a mainstreamed element
of this approach. It also underlined that the best interests of the child must be
a primary consideration in all actions or decisions concerning children and in assessing
the appropriateness of all durable solutions.</p>
