Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that children placed in any form of asylum accommodation are protected and safeguarded; and who is responsible for their protection and safeguarding.

There are clear safeguarding issues which arise if a child is inadvertently treated as an adult, and equally if an adult is wrongly accepted as a child and placed in accommodation with younger children to whom they could present a risk. It is therefore of upmost importance that, where a young asylum seeker’s age is in doubt, the process of age assessment is resolved quickly and conclusively to ensure the right care is provided for that individual.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking 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 staff, including contractors, receive a number of briefings and guidance on how to safeguard children.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to protect all children. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is a key local authority duty and requires effective joint working between agencies and professionals.