This Government takes its responsibility for the welfare of migrant children very seriously. We have comprehensive statutory and policy safeguards in place for caring for and safeguarding unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).<\/p>
Social workers and the courts are best placed to make decisions for vulnerable children, in consideration of all the factors involved in often complex cases. Children should be cared for in a way that recognises and respects their identity and carers should be given the training and support they need to meet the child\u2019s needs.<\/p>
Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, including their mental health and emotional wellbeing needs, regardless of their immigration status. Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) are provided in addition to this statutory support and are an additional source of advice and support for potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality, and somebody who can advocate on their behalf.<\/p>
Due to the specialist nature of the ICTG service there is currently no intention to expand the scope to include all young asylum-seeking children in England and Wales whether or not they are separated from their parents.<\/p>
There are other provisions already in place to provide support for migrant children. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children can access legal advice from qualified legal representatives and, in England, independent advice and assistance on the asylum process and in their interactions with government agencies is available from the Refugee Council\u2019s Independent Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children Support Service (IUSS).<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4950", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Murray of Blidworth"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Murray of Blidworth"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-02-08T17:56:31.063Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-01-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Asylum: Children"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide independent guardians or advocates for all migrant children separated from their parents; if so, when they expect this to be offered throughout England and Wales; and whether specialist foster parents will be available.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2018", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Hylton"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Hylton"} ], "uin" : "HL5076"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 1, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }