Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of children have refused their (a) first and (b) second move on the National Transfer Scheme; and what guidance his Department issues on refusals by children to move through the National Transfer Scheme.

The decision for any UAS child to be referred to the NTS for transfer lies with the local authority as the child’s corporate parent. The NTS Protocol sets out the criteria for referring a child to the NTS, and the associated timeframes, which can be found here: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: national transfer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The NTS Protocol also outlines the escalation procedure on how to proceed when any issues arise between the receiving local authority around a transfer.

The most recent published data can be found at: RASI (Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration) data: Q3 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).