Asylum: Children

(asked on 5th September 2023) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 20 July (HL9141), why they do not hold records that would enable them to answer parliamentary questions on the age of the youngest unaccompanied child seeking asylum that has been placed in a hotel.


This question was answered on 18th September 2023

We take the safety and welfare of those in our care, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, extremely seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

No individuals, apart from the unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, are residing at any of the hotels ring-fenced for children.

Children are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

All individuals working directly with the young people accommodated at the hotels have Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks, and all those working and operating on the hotel sites have DBS clearance. The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) found that the young people accommodated at the hotels unanimously reported feeling happy and safe.

We do hold records however, the data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.

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