Child Refugees

Lord Rosser Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I presume the noble Lord refers to children both at home and abroad. Obviously, if a child is in Greece, Italy, France or wherever, it is the responsibility of that Government to safeguard that child. I said to the noble Lord that I did not have evidence of disappeared children in this country. That is not to say that in future that may not happen, but at this point we have had no representation from local authorities to say that children are disappearing. Obviously, if that were to be the case, we would follow it up with some urgency.

[Lord Rosser (Lab)]

My Lords, yesterday my noble friend Lord Dubs in this Chamber asked the Government,

“to confirm the news that we have heard about the Government intending to bring to an end the scheme under Section 67 of the Immigration Act”,

namely, the Dubs amendment. In response, the Government told the House:

“A Written Ministerial Statement will underscore that, far from doing that, Section 67 of the Act … stands”.—[Official Report, 8/2/17; col. 1715.]


Why was no reference made yesterday by the Government to any cap of 350 when that response was given to the very specific question from my noble friend Lord Dubs?

Can the Minister also respond to a question about the Written Statement? It says:

“Local authorities told us they have capacity for around 400 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children until the end of this financial year”.


What capacity have local authorities told the Government they have for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the 1917-18 financial year on the basis that the current level of government funding is continued?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend referred the House to the Written Ministerial Statement in which the figure of 350 was iterated; clearly, the WMS was laid not long before Questions began. I cannot remember the second part of the noble Lord’s question.

[Lord Rosser]

I am happy to repeat it because it is a quote from the Government’s own Written Statement:

“Local authorities told us they have capacity for around 400 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children until the end of this financial year”.—[Official Report, Commons, 8/2/17; col. 10WS.]


What capacity have local authorities told the Government they have for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the next financial year, namely 1917-18, on the basis that the current level of government funding is continued?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I think the noble Lord means 2017-18. Obviously, as I have said to noble Lords, the Government are in constant consultation with local authorities on a range of things, including this. The scheme is entirely voluntary. We do not want to force local authorities to do things that they may not have the capacity to fulfil. Children are of paramount importance.