Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 215158 on UK-France Migration Committee, what services were purchased with the £3.6 million of funding to support transfers of eligible children to the UK.

The UK and France enjoy a special relationship based on shared values and priorities, including promoting the rule of law, protecting the rights of individuals and ensuring the security of our citizens. In January 2018 both countries signed the Sandhurst Treaty, which included a funding package of £45.5 million to fund joint co-operation on all elements of tackling the impact of illegal migration in northern France.

Within this package, £3.6 million was specifically allocated to funding the development of the Dublin process to support transfers of eligible children to the UK, including training for those working with unaccompanied children, family tracing and targeted information campaigns. This full package of £3.6 million was paid to the French Government at the end of 2018. We continue to work with France to transfer eligible children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and the Dublin regulation and transfers are ongoing.