Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to help reduce the risk of human trafficking of unaccompanied (i) children and (ii) other young asylum seekers who are staying in hotels run by her Department.

All Home Office staff, and contracted parties have a duty, under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, to ensure that immigration, asylum, and nationality functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK. The HO does not have a statutory responsibility for safeguarding - statutory agencies retain responsibility for all decisions on intervention activity.

On arrival in the UK, all asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children, have an interview which includes a series of questions specifically designed to ascertain potential indicators of trafficking. If indicators are noted, a referral is made to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). In the case of children, a safety plan is put in place by social services, whilst adults identified as potential victims of modern slavery are entitled to care with support provided by the Salvation Army.

The Home Office no longer accommodates Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children in hotels as of 31^st January 2024. Local authorities have a statutory duty under S20 of the Children Act 1989 to look after children in need in their area. This includes unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children who either arrive in a local authority area or are transferred there under the mandated National Transfer Scheme (NTS). When a child is being looked after by a local authority, that local authority is under a duty to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare under the Children Act 1989.

The Home Office and its accommodation providers have robust processes in place to ensure that where an adult asylum seeker is at risk or vulnerable, they are referred to the appropriate statutory agencies such as the police, NHS and social services, to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions.