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Chapter 14 | Policy and Practice Recommendations ■ services for all unaccompanied or separated children in need of such services. 7.11 The Department for Education and Skills in conjunction with the Association of Directors of Social Services and members of the Refugee Children’s Consortium, should devise and implement a national training scheme to ensure that all social services departments are aware of the particular psychiatric and psychological needs of the unaccompanied or separated children whom they may be accommodating or may accommodate in the future. Chapter 8 Need for a Legal Guardian Ineffective guardianship A plethora of services is provided but none represent effective guardianship, responsive to the best interests of the child is needed. The multiplicity of supportive personnel can lead to confusion and the absence of any emotional bond with a trusted or caring adult figure in loco parentis. Moreover, the existence of different agencies leads to “buck passing” with unaccompanied or separated children remaining uncertain about the support they can expect. Unaccompanied or separated children do not have an adult who takes responsibility for their welfare and the progress of their asylum application. Consequences of lack of effective adult support The lack of effective adult support has many negative effects. Unaccompanied children are insufficiently prepared for entering the asylum determination process, sometimes misunderstand the purposes of the screening interview, and are not always provided with appropriate care by the local authority accommodating them. Moreover, the lack of adult support affects the unaccompanied or separated child’s ability to disclose the full extent of past persecution and to cope with the additional stress of the asylum determination process. It may also have a negative effect on the child’s ability to comply with the requirements of the asylum determination process, since no single adult is under any statutory duty to assist the unaccompanied or separated child through this process. Lack of proper training for guardians Our research revealed that many of the adults with whom unaccompanied children come in contact during the screening or determination process lack the necessary legal understanding to assist the child appropriately. Conflicting roles of legal representatives Often the only adult playing a role in relation to the unaccompanied or separated child’s asylum determination process is the legal representative. But advocates charged with representing the child applicant face severe conflicts when they find themselves called upon to choose between making best interest judgements and following the child’s instructions. Many legal representatives are concerned about this requirement to perform two potentially conflicting roles. Steps taken to ensure better legal guardianship At one time it appeared that the U.K. Government was intending to take steps to create a form of legal guardianship which would better respond to the needs of unaccompanied or separated children. The Green Paper “Every Child Matters” 21 recognized the need for unaccompanied or separated children to have a consistent adult in their life speaking on their behalf and mentoring them. 22 However, no additional provisions for unaccompanied or separated children were included in the subsequent Children Act 2004 despite an amendment being tabled 23 187 Hosted by www.ijjo.org
which would have provided for a legal guardian ■ 8.3 The legal guardian should accompany, or for every unaccompanied or separated child. should arrange for an appropriate adult to accom- Furthermore, no amendments were made to the pany, the child to every appointment connected Immigration Rules to ensure that unaccompanied with his or her application for asylum. children received the representation required by the EU Directive. 24 ■ 8.4 The legal guardian should supervise the Meanwhile the Children’s Panel is expected to arrangements made by the local authority to look provide all unaccompanied or separated children after the unaccompanied or separated child. with representation but in reality the Panel lacks the resources to allocate an individual adviser to every ■ 8.5 The legal guardian should appoint appro- referred child. It cannot even allocate an adviser for priate legal representation in connection with every child under 15 as it used to do. the child’s asylum application and monitor the progress of his or her asylum claim. Need for legal guardian at the appeal stage Once in court, an unaccompanied or separated ■ 8.6 The legal guardian should provide a report child’s representative is limited to argument related to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and to the child’s legal right to protection. He or she any higher court on the manner in which the cannot advise the court in relation to the unaccom- unaccompanied or separated child’s best interests panied or separated child’s best interests which may can be met. not accord with the child’s legal rights or instructions. This latter role is well performed in the family court ■ 8.7 Legal guardians should be appropriately by a Children’s Guardian. The need for such a guardian qualified and trained and accountable to a in asylum cases is apparent when a trafficked unac- publicly funded supervisory body. companied or separated child cannot come to terms with the reality that their parent had sold them to SEEKING ASYLUM ALONE | UNITED KINGDOM 188 a trafficker or where the child lacks the maturity to understand the reasons for being sent to the U.K. 25 Recommendations ■ ■ 8.1 A legal guardian should be appointed for every unaccompanied or separated child within three days of his or her initial application for asylum. 8.2 No part of the asylum determination process, including the screening interview, should take place until a legal guardian has been appointed for the unaccompanied or separated child in question. Chapter 9 Applying for Asylum Assumption that children understand what “seeking asylum” means Unaccompanied or separated children have to apply for asylum at a port of entry, at one of the two Asylum Screening Units or at a local Immigration Service enforcement office. 26 There is an assumption on the part of Government that these children both understand the concept of “seeking asylum” and know how to make an application for protection under the Refugee Convention. Interviews conducted for this research revealed that both assumptions were often incorrect. The fact that unaccompanied or Hosted by www.ijjo.org
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Unaccompanied and Separated Childre
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jacqueline Bhabha
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Manchester City Council; Sue Fisher
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Contents Chapter 1 | 9 Chapter 5 |
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SEEKING ASYLUM ALONE | UNITED KINGD
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Arriving in the U.K. 6 The Immigrat
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ers often believe that although a p
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fear of certain groups in society t
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that unaccompanied minor children f
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It then added that “although chil
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2004 it rose to 8.8%. This was at a
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2.3 Countries of Origin Unaccompani
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Recommendations ■ 1. If the U.K.
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There was no comparable age differe
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2.7 Private Fostering Arrangements
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Endnotes 9 Statistics published by
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unfounded, thus depriving this subs
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Bill in Parliament which would have
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of someone who might be an unaccomp
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It is clear that the Rules are a po
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subsequently abducted by their form
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“G” was a 16-year-old Christian
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■ 4. Article 4 of the European Co
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17 A multi-agency task force establ
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of the asylum determination process
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as a group around the claimant laug
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with as being hostile. Nor did they
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purposes. 38 The Immigration and Na
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or local authority social services
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als from age disputed children deta
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and February 2005 when 75% of those
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accommodation which is separated fr
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e safe to let the child go and live
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case, that adult is advised to info
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The official justification for thes
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Asylum Support Team has a case load
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days and a second review after thre
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provides access to rehabilitation a
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who the child must try to relate to
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adult in their life to speak on the
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8.3 Role of a Legal Guardian rights
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asylum application and monitor the
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do once I got to London. The pictur
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Some social services departments do
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■ 5. The screening interview shou
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eturn to a country requiring servic
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■ 6. The syllabus for the Accredi
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this research believe that it is no
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A recent White Paper 13 states that
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an important and distinct role to p
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for Determining Refugee Status. 30
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draws on a small number of other re
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■ 3. UNHCR also states that the q
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contact the child via social servic
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It is not possible to ascertain the
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leave to remain if it was unlikely
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Page 175 and 176: Recommendations 14 Immigration Rule
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Page 205 and 206: 22 Information provided by Ailish K
Page 207 and 208: A P P E N D I X 1 Glossary of Terms
Page 209 and 210: Bibliography Amnesty International.
Page 211 and 212: Immigration Advisory Service. Submi
Page 213 and 214: FOR MORE INFORMATION PHOTOGRAPHY CR
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