Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress the Government has made in accepting into the UK from other EU countries unaccompanied children claiming asylum from Syria.

In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied children to the UK from Europe, including more than 750 from France. Approximately 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.

Under section 67 of the Immigration Act in France, we considered all those aged 12 and under, all children referred to us by the French authorities assessed as being at a high risk of sexual exploitation, and those nationalities most likely to qualify for refugee status in the UK, aged 15 or below, including Syrian nationals. All children, including Syrian nationals, who have close family in the UK were considered for transfer under the Dublin Regulation, regardless of age or nationality.

More eligible children will be transferred from Europe, in line with the terms of the Immigration Act, in the coming months and we will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation. The process and criteria for the transfer of children from Europe under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 will be published in due course.