Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied migrant children have gone missing from hotels run by the Home Office.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
UASC hotels are temporary accommodation that provide safeguarding for a child until they are ready to be transferred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.
We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.
The data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.
The most recent published data can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Although the Home Office would record that an Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child (UASC) who’s gone missing from a UASC Hotel was arrested when they were found, we aren’t always notified of the full circumstances in which a UASC is found, and therefore we would not be able to provide details for this request.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether section 20 of the Children Act 1989 allows local authorities to delegate their duties under that section for child protection to other public bodies.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Local authorities have a duty to provide services to all children in need in their area. Under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities are under a statutory obligation to provide accommodation to children when the criteria in Section 20(1) is met.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure that the duty to accommodate is met. Whilst the local authority can make arrangements with other persons to act on their behalf by providing certain services, including the provision of accommodation, the local authority is still responsible for meeting the duty under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, and for anything that flows from a child being accommodated by the local authority.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government under which legal provision the Home Office has assumed child protection powers for unaccompanied migrant children.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We expect local authorities to meet their statutory obligations to children from the date they arrive in the UK. The best place for these young people is and will remain within a local authority care placement.
The Home Office is not currently in the position of corporate parent to any unaccompanied child.
There is nothing in the Illegal Migration Bill which changes this position.
It will continue to be for the local authority where an unaccompanied child is located to consider its duties under the Children Act 1989.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many businesses and companies in (1) England, (2) Scotland, and (3) Wales, have received support from the Access to Work scheme to employ disabled people.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Access to Work applications are made by employees or self-employed individuals. The scheme provides grants to fund support for those individuals. Table 8 of the Access to Work Official Statistics includes the number of people who received Access to Work provision from 2009/10 to 2021/22 by region.
The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here:
Access to Work statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with charities supporting disabled people about the operation of the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
DWP regularly attends Access to Work national stakeholder forums with charities and disabled people’s organisations from across England, Scotland and Wales to discuss Access to Work.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people have secured jobs through the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The information requested about the number of disabled people who have secured jobs through Access to Work is not available. Access to Work does not provide support to find jobs. It is a grant that provides individuals with funding for support and adaptations beyond reasonable adjustments to retain employment. To receive Access to Work support, applicants must be employed, self-employed, about to start work, participating in a supported internship/traineeship, taking part in work experience/work trial, or require communication support at interview.
Information on how many individuals receive Access to Work support is in table 6 of the Access to Work Official Statistics.
The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here:
Access to Work statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people who have found work through the Access to Work scheme are in (1) full-time, and (2) part-time, employment.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The information requested on the number of people who have found work through the Access to Work scheme is not available. Access to Work does not provide support to find jobs. It is a grant that provides individuals with funding for support and adaptations beyond reasonable adjustments to retain employment. To receive Access to Work support, applicants must be employed, self-employed, about to start work, participating in a supported internship/traineeship, taking part in work experience/work trial, or require communication support at interview.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied migrant children placed in hotels have gone missing in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office takes the wellbeing, welfare and security of children and minors in our care extremely seriously. Robust safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure all children and minors are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with local authorities.
As of 28.02.23 there were 410 missing episodes and on 224 of these occasions the young person was subsequently located.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to review their support for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The United Kingdom remains fully committed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and is dedicated to protecting and promoting children’s rights in all aspects of society.
The department is fully engaged with the UNCRC reporting process. We submitted our UK State Party report in June 2022 and are preparing for the Constructive Dialogue with the UN Committee in May 2023.
Through the use of Children’s Rights Impact Assessments, the government has sought to embed the consideration of children’s rights and compatibility with the Convention at the heart of policy making.
Strengthening children’s rights is a continuous process and we look forward to receiving the Concluding Observations from the UN Committee in June 2023, so we can continue to look for new and better ways of promoting the best interests of children.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to amend the Children Act 1989 to remove the legal duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
His Majesty’s Government do not have any plans to amend the Children Act 1989 to remove the legal duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need.