Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action is the Home Secretary taking to implement the recommendations of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration report on age assessments to ensure that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are properly safeguarded.

The Home Office accepted all eight of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) age assessment recommendations which were designed to improve training, guidance, assurance, resources and communication.

Initial age decisions were a primary focus of the report and, to date, the Home Office has:

• Implemented minimum quality standards and clear operating procedures to ensure a consistent and fair approach at first encounter
• Published updated guidance on the age admit process so individuals are informed of what they are being asked to sign, the implications of doing so, and how this information may be used
• Completed the first part of an evaluation into initial age decision training to ensure it is meeting requirements
• Started work to improve the overall process and experience through assurance frameworks and feedback mechanisms

The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) was also a key focus of the inspection and improvements have been made to assurance frameworks to further ensure age assessments are conducted consistently, robustly and in line with both legislative requirements and best practice.

We have also focused on improving our use of technology. The NAAB online referral portal will also be going live in the next few months which will improve access for local authorities by providing a new, streamlined route for referring age assessment cases to the NAAB. This new technology will deliver operational efficiencies and enable referrals to be made more easily and quickly.

The Home Office has improved the quality of age assessment data. To strengthen transparency, the publication of age assessment official statistics will resume as part of the Immigration Statistical Release scheduled for 21 May 2026. This release will include new disaggregated data on the outcomes of age disputes. Over time, this will provide a more complete national picture, make clearer distinctions between stages of the process and allow improved monitoring.

We continue to develop proposals on how we can share more information with local authorities, where appropriate to support effective planning and safeguarding. We are also engaging directly with stakeholders on progress made against the recommendations to ensure they are delivered in a way that continues to strengthen protections for children.