Heidi Allen
Main Page: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)Department Debates - View all Heidi Allen's debates with the Department for Education
(6 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Joseph Johnson
I believe my right hon. Friend the schools Minister is confirming that he would be keen to take such a meeting.
Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)
11. When she plans to publish the Government’s strategy on the safeguarding of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children.
Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)
23. When she plans to publish the Government’s strategy on the safeguarding of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children.
The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Robert Goodwill)
The safeguarding strategy, bringing together all work in this area and setting out further detail, will be published later this autumn.
Heidi Allen
This strategy was due on 1 May, so I am keen that we see it as soon as possible. I would like to understand the reasons for the delay and to know whether the Minister has looked at whether independent guardians might work. I was struck when I visited Lesbos and Calais that there is no admin support or signposting at all for unaccompanied children seeking to make asylum claims, so having somebody with them would definitely help.
Mr Goodwill
We had a general election this year, which derailed some of the timetables for these things, but it is certainly absolutely vital that all unaccompanied children seeking asylum have access to independent legal advice and are referred to the Children’s Panel.