Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, how her Department will assess the tolerance levels of the Artificial Intelligence determining the ages of asylum seekers.

Assessing age is a complex task and no method or combination of methods can definitively determine age. In order to strengthen the age assessment system, the Home Office is exploring facial age estimation technology. Work has been commissioned to test and trial this technology to understand its capabilities. The testing and assurance will be key in informing policy development and to ensure its use is proportionate.

The technology will not be used in isolation but is intended to provide additional information to the decision maker.

The Government will issue further information regarding testing and assurance in due course.