Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department's process of sending voluntary withdrawal forms to asylum-seeking minors was introduced; when his Department has reviewed that process; and how many minors have been sent such forms since the introduction of that policy.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The issuing of voluntary withdrawal forms was part of a standard template introduced in April 2015 that was issued to all asylum claimants when they were notified that their asylum claim was not a straightforward claim and therefore a decision would be delayed. This process was reviewed in early 2018 and the decision taken not to issue the form to asylum claims made by minors.
We do not hold data on the number of forms issued.