Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time between the request for transfer of an unaccompanied minor under the National Transfer Scheme and the new local authority receiving that child.

We are grateful to the local authorities who continue to support to unaccompanied asylum seeking children, including those who have participated in the National Transfer Scheme (NTS).

Data on the NTS can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/663577/UKVI_Asylum_Transparency_data_Q3_2017.ods

The average waiting time to transfer unaccompanied children through the NTS varies according to the individual circumstances involved.

The number of unaccompanied children awaiting transfer through the scheme is fluid, depending on asylum intake, the number of transfer requests by local authorities and the number of transfers completed.