Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any progress was made at the recent European Council on the issue of the protection, support, education, and health of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors already in European countries; and on the early identification of those who have close family links with the UK.

The focus of the June European Council was migration, there was no specific discussion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The Council agreed to reform the Common European Asylum System which provides minimum standards for the treatment of all asylum seekers and the functioning of the Dublin Regulation.

The Government continues to work closely with EU Member States to enact the safe transfers of unaccompanied children who have claimed asylum in another Member State to be transferred here to have their asylum claim assessed if they have a qualifying family member legally present in the UK and transfer would be in their best interests.