Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to review the eligibility criteria for the Dubs scheme; and whether children who have arrived in Europe after the EU-Turkey deal on 20 March 2016 will be eligible for transfer under that scheme.

The Government is fully committed to transferring 480 unaccompanied children from Europe under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and transfers are ongoing. To be eligible, children must have been present in Europe before 20 March 2016, and it be determined, following individual assessment, that it would be in their best interest to be transferred to the UK.

Member States have been asked to prioritise those likely to qualify for refugee status and the most vulnerable. The requirement to be present in Europe before 20 March 2016 has been in place since the passage of section 67 in May 2016, and supports the principle that the scheme should not act as a pull factor for further children to make dangerous journeys to Europe.