Nearly all of unaccompanied youngsters who enter the UK to hunt asylum don’t convey with them proof of their age. Due to this, the Residence Workplace has an obligation to hold out an preliminary evaluation of their age to ascertain whether or not they’re, or may very well be, youngsters.
The Residence Workplace doesn’t publish statistics concerning youngsters who’re wrongly assessed as adults on arrival nor concerning the variety of preliminary age assessments that are later overturned.
Nonetheless, for years, third sector organisations have been gathering and publishing proof and statistics on these choices. Final yr, a report revealed by Helen Bamber, People For Rights Community and Refugee Council confirmed that between January 2022 and June 2023 over 1,300 youngsters had been wrongly assessed as adults by the Residence Workplace. Extra not too long ago, an up to date report revealed by the Refugee and Migrant Youngsters’s Consortium confirmed that between January 2024 and June 2024, no less than 262 youngsters had been misclassified as adults by the Residence Workplace on arrival.
Why is that this vital?
The preliminary age evaluation stage within the asylum course of is essential. If a youngster is discovered to be an grownup on arrival, they are going to be assigned a date of start making them over 18 and they are going to be dispersed in grownup lodging and handled as adults from that time onwards. The implications of this may be catastrophic for youngsters who’re wrongly assessed as adults by the Residence Workplace.
If a youngster is discovered to be an grownup, they won’t be referred to a neighborhood authority. As a substitute, they are going to be accommodated in grownup lodging, which is generally lodge lodging, and be left with little or no help. Courts have discovered the follow of accommodating unaccompanied youngsters in accommodations to be illegal. Nonetheless, youngsters wrongfully assessed as adults proceed to be accommodated in accommodations.
This places youngsters at severe danger as there are little to no safeguarding procedures in place in grownup lodging. One of many key dangers is re-trafficking, as highlighted in a report revealed by Each Baby Protected In opposition to Trafficking final yr which discovered that unaccompanied youngsters positioned in grownup lodging face elevated dangers of re-trafficking and exploitation. At JustRight Scotland, we routinely help youngsters who, after being wrongly assessed as adults and being accommodated in grownup Residence Workplace lodging in England, are later re-trafficked to Scotland. This may very well be prevented if youngsters had been referred to native authorities by the Residence Workplace and accommodated in enough, secure lodging as quickly as they arrive.
A second main concern is that youngsters who’re wrongly assessed as adults are handled as such by the Residence Workplace and are liable to be detained and eliminated to France beneath the UK-France settlement. While unaccompanied youngsters are excluded from this, youngsters wrongly assessed as adults on arrival will not be and the Residence Workplace have already tried to take away numerous younger individuals who had said they had been beneath 18 on arrival to the UK. In different phrases, the distinction between a toddler being assessed as a toddler or being wrongly assessed as an grownup may be the distinction between them with the ability to stay within the UK or face detention and removing.
A 3rd concern is that youngsters who’re wrongfully assessed as adults are additionally prone to being convicted of crimes round unlawful entry beneath the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. People for Rights Community have reported that between June 2022 and September 2024, no less than 26 youngsters wrongly assessed as adults had been charged with these offences, with numerous them being detained in grownup prisons consequently.
Lastly, there are a variety of safeguards in place for unaccompanied asylum-seeking youngsters which youngsters wrongly assessed as adults miss out on. Beneath the streamlined coverage, the Residence Workplace ought to keep away from prolonged substantive interviews, the place doable. Youngsters even have the appropriate to have an applicable grownup and authorized consultant current throughout interviews and the Residence Workplace workers coping with these circumstances are all skilled in dealing with youngsters’s circumstances.
When figuring out youngsters’s claims, resolution makers additionally should be aware of the applicant’s age when assessing their credibility. That is mirrored within the Residence Workplace statistics. Within the yr ending June 2025, 73% of preliminary asylum choices resulted in a grant of safety for unaccompanied youngsters, in comparison with 47% in purposes made by adults. This reveals that unaccompanied youngsters accepted by the Residence Workplace as youngsters are considerably extra prone to receive safety within the UK.
Residence Workplace preliminary age evaluation course of
As quickly as a separated little one enters the UK, the Residence Workplace will perform an preliminary age evaluation to ascertain whether or not they’re, or may very well be, a toddler. This course of is pretty arbitrary. Primarily, two Residence Workplace members of workers will have a look at the kid and determine whether or not, based mostly on their look and manner, they assume that they may very well be a toddler.
Beneath the Residence Workplace steerage, there are only a few safeguards in place at this stage. All that’s wanted is for 2 officers (one among whom must be a Chief Immigration Officer or Greater Govt Officer) to agree on an preliminary resolution that the kid presents as considerably over 18 for them to have the ability to assess them as an grownup. Unhelpfully, no social employee must be current throughout this evaluation.
That is notably regarding when desirous about the time limit wherein these assessments are carried out. Generally, younger folks will undergo these preliminary assessments as quickly as they enter the nation. This may comply with weeks, if not months, of being malnourished, sleep disadvantaged and fairly often having been topic to bodily and psychological abuse throughout their journey. While the Residence Workplace steerage acknowledges that there’s a vast margin of error at this stage, in follow it’s arduous to see how all of those elements may be taken under consideration when the evaluation itself is solely based mostly on the younger particular person’s presentation.
This follow, and the coverage behind it, has lengthy been criticised by third sector and civil society organisations drawing consideration to the excessive variety of youngsters wrongly categorised as adults consequently. Residence Workplace preliminary age assessments had been additionally not too long ago criticised by the Impartial Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in his July report. As explored by Stewart right here, the report highlighted poor high quality resolution making by Immigration Officers in addition to poor report maintaining. Some notably regarding practices included adversarial traces of questioning and younger folks reportedly being pressured to signal declarations stating to be over 18.
If a youngster is discovered to be an grownup following an preliminary evaluation by the Residence Workplace, they are going to be assigned a date of start that makes them an grownup. This resolution doesn’t appeal to a proper of enchantment (albeit it may be challenged by the use of judicial assessment). The one different manner for youngsters who’re wrongly assessed as adults to have their age reassessed is for them to be referred to a neighborhood authority by, as an illustration, their authorized consultant or a supporting organisation. This primarily places the onus on the younger particular person and people aiding them to refer the case to a neighborhood authority.
If the preliminary resolution made by the Residence Workplace just isn’t challenged and the kid just isn’t referred to a neighborhood authority, they are going to be handled as an grownup all through the asylum course of.
Duties of native authorities & full age assessments
As soon as a referral is acquired which stories that an unaccompanied little one is of their space, a neighborhood authority has an obligation to hold out their very own enquiries to ascertain whether or not the younger particular person is, or may very well be, a toddler. The responsibility to hold out such enquiries applies even in circumstances the place the Residence Workplace has made a unfavourable preliminary age evaluation resolution. The place a neighborhood authority refuses to have interaction with a youngster merely on the idea of a Residence Workplace preliminary age evaluation resolution, there may very well be a possible breach of their duties beneath part 20 of the Youngsters Act 1989 (part 25 of the Youngsters (Scotland) Act 1995 in Scotland).
If, following these enquiries, a neighborhood authority finds that the younger particular person is, or may very well be, a toddler, they are going to should be taken into care and accommodated. As soon as the younger particular person is in care, the native authority can determine to easily settle for their age. The place this occurs, beneath the Residence Workplace steerage, the native authority might want to inform the Residence Workplace of their resolution to just accept the younger particular person’s age and provides their reasoning. If the Residence Workplace is happy with the choice, they are going to then proceed to additionally deal with them as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking little one.
If a neighborhood authority, after the younger particular person has been taken into care, nonetheless has vital doubt concerning their age they’ll determine to conduct a full age evaluation.
Full age assessments have been the topic of litigation for over twenty years now. Nonetheless, the main case continues to be R (B) v Merton [2003] EWHC 1689 (Admin). Native authorities in England must also comply with the non-statutory steerage revealed by the Affiliation of Administrators of Youngsters’s Providers when conducting full age assessments. The equal steerage in Scotland is right here.
Once more, as soon as a full age evaluation has been performed, beneath Residence Workplace steerage, the native authority might want to share the choice with the Residence Workplace and usually the end result will probably be accepted and carried out by them.
Till the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 got here into drive, full age assessments had been solely the accountability of native authorities. Nonetheless, by way of the Act the Residence Workplace launched the Nationwide Age Evaluation Board, which grew to become operational on 31 March 2023. The Board consists of social staff employed immediately by the Residence Workplace to hold out full age assessments.
The board is generally answerable for finishing up full age assessments the place a neighborhood authority makes a referral to them, for instance because of restricted capability or experience. However, the Residence Workplace may also make referrals to the board in circumstances the place a call made by a neighborhood authority just isn’t accepted. This could apply, as an illustration, the place a neighborhood authority has accepted a toddler’s age with out finishing up a full age evaluation or additionally the place a full age evaluation resolution is disputed by the Residence Workplace.
Issues have been raised, together with by the British Affiliation of Social Employees, concerning the objectivity of the board and the potential battle of curiosity with the Residence Workplace.
In abstract, even beneath the brand new modifications and following the introduction of the Nationwide Age Evaluation Board, native authorities are nonetheless answerable for finishing up most full age assessments and set up the age of unaccompanied asylum-seeking youngsters of their care.
Conclusion
Age assessments are advanced and assessing somebody’s age precisely is usually a very tough activity. The UK Authorities has been this space intensively over the previous couple of years. Past the introduction of the Nationwide Age Evaluation Board, proposed reforms have included the introductions of scientific strategies and, extra not too long ago, the used of facial age estimation by way of synthetic intelligence. These proposals have been topic to sturdy criticism and, if carried out, are prone to face authorized challenges.
This can be a advanced and fast-moving space of labor that immigration practitioners may be understandably anxious about. However, it is vital for authorized representatives to help younger folks with these issues. Whether or not a youngster is accepted as a toddler by the Residence Workplace or not may symbolize the distinction between them being detained and faraway from the UK or with the ability to stay, and be taken care of and supported by their native authority. An adolescent’s recorded date of start may even decide what monetary help, lodging, and training they’ll have entry to within the UK.
As such it’s essential that, when aiding an age-disputed younger particular person, authorized representatives be sure that the case is referred to the native authority and that the younger particular person is satisfactorily supported and suggested all through the age evaluation course of, which, in advanced circumstances, can final months and even years.
This text was initially revealed in July 2023 and has been up to date by Francesca Sella in order that it’s right as of the brand new date of publication proven.
