Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Draft Working Text for an Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union on the transfer of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children makes it a mandatory obligation to (1) ensure family reunion, and (2) confer rights enforceable through domestic legal systems

The UK published the draft legal text of our proposed agreement with the EU on the family reunion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children on 19 May.

Under the terms of the draft legal text, the UK would act on requests from sending states where we are satisfied that the criteria for transfer as set out in the draft legal text are met. It is only right that all transfers are in a child’s best interests and the legal text makes that clear. A transfer could be rejected, for example, where there are safeguarding concerns or failure to establish a proven family link as these transfers would not be in a child’s best interests.

With regards to conferral of rights enforceable through domestic legal systems, the UK will abide by its international agreements and implement it in domestic law as appropriate. An individual’s rights come from the UK’s implementation of an international agreement, not from the agreement itself – this is standard practice for all international agreements.