Asylum: Children

(asked on 26th February 2018) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2018 to Question 125391, whether she plans to publish the number of children transferred from the Calais refugee camp since the Transfers of children to the UK from the Calais Operation: November 2017 report.


Answered by
Caroline Nokes Portrait
Caroline Nokes
This question was answered on 1st March 2018

In 2016, we transferred 769 unaccompanied children to the UK as part of the UK’s comprehensive support to the Calais camp clearance. The support we provided to France during the clearance of the camp was in response to an urgent humanitarian situation and the publication of data relating to the operation was a one-off.

Both the UK and France are agreed on the importance of avoiding the formation of any new camps in northern France. The UK and France signed a Treaty on 19 January, in which we agreed a new ‘whole of route’ joint package of co-operation on migration, aimed at further strengthening our shared border, combating organised crime and working together to reduce the number of illegal migrants at the northern French ports. The Treaty includes measures to ensure those migrants who have travelled to northern France are able to claim asylum quickly. Any children who are present in Calais or the surrounding area should claim asylum or otherwise engage with French authorities, and not attempt dangerous journeys to the UK.

We are fully committed to transferring the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 as soon as possible. We are working closely with participating States and with relevant partners such as the UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs to ensure the safe transfer of children referred by each State to the UK. Over 220 children are already here and transfers are ongoing. We will not provide a running commentary on numbers.

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