Comment on Refugee Council’s report, Identity Crisis

Commenting on Refugee Council’s report, ADCS President Steve Crocker said:

“Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are fleeing desperate situations and arrive here alone in search of safety. Their care and best interests must be at the heart of any decision made, but we are aware of too many instances where children have been wrongly assessed as adults. As the report states, this can cause long-term harm to children. Clearly, urgent improvements are needed in the initial screening process that takes place at ports of entry.

“Age assessments are frequently the subject of legal challenge and local authorities are picking up the pieces where decisions made by Home Office are found to be incorrect, placing additional pressure on us and our staff at a time when children’s services and social workers are already stretched.

“ADCS cautiously supports the government’s plans to introduce a National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), however, we await further information from government about how the NAAB will link with excellent social work practice taking place in local authorities. Age assessments must be driven by a child-centric approach and should be thorough as well as timely. Engaging with gateway local authorities in particular will be key here as they have a lot of expertise in this area. The safety and best interests of asylum seeking children must be at the heart of any reforms or decisions made.”

ENDS

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