Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the response to the Urgent Question on 24 January 2023 on Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children, Official Report column 859, whether in the welfare interview children are explicitly informed (a) that they will not be sent to Rwanda, (b) of their rights as a child seeking asylum in the UK, (c) of the risks to them of people seeking to exploit children staying in asylum hotels, (d) of advice to stay safe and (e) about how to seek help if in difficulty.

The purpose of a welfare interview is to ascertain the physical and emotional state of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) as well as to obtain some basic information about themselves and their family, their journey to the United Kingdom and any links they may have in the United Kingdom. During the welfare interview, our UASC children are not informed of the points raised. This information is relayed to each UASC child upon arrival at their accommodation.