Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have put in place to ensure that children can continue to be transferred to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 committed the Government to transfer 480 unaccompanied?children?from Greece, Italy and France?to the UK; 478?have now?successfully?transferred.??We?remain?in contact?with our counterparts?in?Italy?to?complete?the transfer of the final two children?as soon as?it is safe to do so.??We?welcome the pledges made by other?countries?to?support Greece?and?stand ready to offer advice and guidance to?those?developing?their own schemes.

The UK remains fully committed to meeting our obligations under the Dublin Regulation. Despite covid-19 restrictions, the UK is ready to accept transfers under Dublin whenever Member States are in a position to make those arrangements. Following close collaboration with the Greek Government, 50 asylum seekers arrived in the UK from Greece on 11 May in order to unite with family members who were already lawfully present in the UK.

Protecting vulnerable children is a key priority for the Government. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied children than any country in the EU and accounted for approximately 20% of all reported UASC claims made in the UK and the 27 EU Member States.