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Chapter 7 | Accommodation and Care of Unaccompanied or Separated Children and alcohol. 19 In another, an unaccompanied or separated child was placed with a private landlord who physically assaulted him. 20 There are also girls with children of their own left unsupervised in bed and breakfast accommodation. 21 “You are often dealing with very vulnerable kids. Just sticking them together [in accommodation] isn’t really enough.” 22 “A 14-year-old boy was placed in bed and breakfast accommodation and given TV dinners and luncheon vouchers. He spoke no English and had to fend for himself. Local authorities don’t see their role as protection. They are just servicing [unaccompanied or separated children] during the determination of their claims.” 23 The reluctance to accommodate unaccompanied or separated children under section 20 arises in part from the fact that once an unaccompanied or separated child (between the ages of 14 and 18) has been accommodated for a 13-week period, the local authority becomes responsible for providing accommodation and some financial support once the child turns 18. This responsibility can last until 21 or even 24 in certain circumstances, if the young person is still in education or needs accommodation to make the transition into employment. 25 This reluctance is very detrimental to a large number of children, who typically have multiple needs. A survey 26 conducted in 2000, into the dispersal of families around the U.K., provides some useful comparative data. Even where some local authorities acknowledge that they owe a duty under section 20 to accommodate an unaccompanied or separated child, they seek to discharge this duty by placing the unaccompanied or separated child in another local authority’s area where accommodation is cheaper. For example, unaccompanied or separated children accommodated by certain Central London local authorities place children in sea side towns in East Anglia or the South of England. The physical distance between the child and his or her social worker makes meaningful supervision and support very difficult. This has an adverse effect on the child’s ability to comply with the many requirements of the asylum determination process. On a more positive note, Kent County Council, an authority that provides quality support to unaccompanied or separated children but which is supporting many hundreds of such children, has entered into a Safe Case Transfer Scheme with Manchester 24 under which responsibility for the unaccompanied or separated children is not delegated by default but rather formally transferred. It reveals that although asylum seeking and refugee children have multiple needs because of their experiences of separation, loss, and dislocation, many are not in receipt of the same standard of care routinely afforded to indigenous children in need with whom they shared identical rights. When a child is not only dislocated but also separated from his or her family the child’s needs are even more pronounced and the effect of not meeting those needs can be profound. “People were so unhelpful. They could see easily that I was someone who needed help, but I was not given any. It was as if everyone wanted me to go back to where I started and not be a problem. It was difficult to get an interpreter. It was difficult to get a hostel. Everything was so much trouble and I felt as if I was giving people a lot of hard work and that is not a nice feeling. If they are there to help people, why make them feel bad about getting that help?” 27 81 Hosted by www.ijjo.org
Asylum Support Team has a case load of about 140 unaccompanied or separated children 31 and treated those under 16 in exactly the same way as it would any other child being accommodated. It carries out full children in need assessments and held regular Looked After Children Reviews. The Team works closely with the Red Cross, Save the Children, and Refugee Action and has developed a good understanding of the needs of unaccompanied or separated children. It always provides an appropriate adult if an unaccompanied or separated child has an appointment with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Liverpool and takes an active role in identifying good quality legal representation for them. It also uses four local counselling services for the unaccompanied or separated children in its Some unaccompanied or separated children have care. In Glasgow, every unaccompanied or sepa- more positive individual experiences but remain rated child is allocated a social worker within five critical of general practice. 28 days and checked on a daily basis. A social worker also accompanies unaccompanied or separated “Social services were very responsive and placed children to appointments with the Immigration me in a shared house with other girls. [But] I think Advisory Service, their solicitor, their doctor, or things worked out for me because I’ve made an any hospital. In addition, it arranges for them all effort. I’ve been trying to solve my problems. to start English classes. 32 I think I made it smooth for me. It’s not nice the In Newcastle, members of the Family Support SEEKING ASYLUM ALONE | UNITED KINGDOM 82 way they treat kids and the way they treat us really stays with us because we’re still so young and we remember when someone has done something horrible to us. They need to be loving and generous.” 29 And there are also many examples of good practice. West Sussex County Council generally accommodates all unaccompanied or separated children under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 and provides key workers to accompany them to court and to appointments with legal representatives, their doctors, or the Home Office. Under 16 year olds are placed with foster carers and those between 16 and 18 are placed in supported lodgings. 30 Manchester City Council’s Team act as appropriate adults when unaccompanied or separated children have appointments with their legal representatives or the Immigration Service. They also work closely with the YMCA and Save the Children. 33 A number of these local authorities commented on the absence of guidance from the Department for Education and Skills about the appropriate level of support to give to unaccompanied or separated children. The only official guidance in existence is the Local Authority Circular (LAC) 34 advising local authorities to accommodate unaccompanied or separated children under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. This was produced by the Department of Health and does not give any detailed advice. In con- 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
Page 31 and 32: 2.7 Private Fostering Arrangements
Page 33 and 34: Endnotes 9 Statistics published by
Page 35 and 36: SEEKING ASYLUM ALONE | UNITED KINGD
Page 37 and 38: unfounded, thus depriving this subs
Page 39 and 40: Bill in Parliament which would have
Page 43 and 44: of someone who might be an unaccomp
Page 45 and 46: It is clear that the Rules are a po
Page 47 and 48: subsequently abducted by their form
Page 49 and 50: “G” was a 16-year-old Christian
Page 51 and 52: ■ 4. Article 4 of the European Co
Page 53 and 54: 17 A multi-agency task force establ
Page 57 and 58: of the asylum determination process
Page 59 and 60: as a group around the claimant laug
Page 61 and 62: with as being hostile. Nor did they
Page 63 and 64: purposes. 38 The Immigration and Na
Page 65 and 66: or local authority social services
Page 69 and 70: als from age disputed children deta
Page 71 and 72: and February 2005 when 75% of those
Page 73 and 74: accommodation which is separated fr
Page 75 and 76: e safe to let the child go and live
Page 79 and 80: case, that adult is advised to info
Page 81: The official justification for thes
Page 85 and 86: days and a second review after thre
Page 87 and 88: provides access to rehabilitation a
Page 91 and 92: who the child must try to relate to
Page 93 and 94: adult in their life to speak on the
Page 95 and 96: 8.3 Role of a Legal Guardian rights
Page 97 and 98: asylum application and monitor the
Page 101 and 102: do once I got to London. The pictur
Page 103 and 104: Some social services departments do
Page 105 and 106: ■ 5. The screening interview shou
Page 107 and 108: eturn to a country requiring servic
Page 109 and 110: ■ 6. The syllabus for the Accredi
Page 113 and 114: this research believe that it is no
Page 115 and 116: A recent White Paper 13 states that
Page 117 and 118: an important and distinct role to p
Page 119 and 120: for Determining Refugee Status. 30
Page 121 and 122: draws on a small number of other re
Page 123 and 124: ■ 3. UNHCR also states that the q
Page 131 and 132: 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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“Unaccompanied children are not g
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5 IND. Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking
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until they turn 18, whichever is th
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“There are some exceptionally goo
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could have been allowed. In one of
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esisting removal to their countries
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■ 3. The Law Society and the Lega
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determinations we analyzed this did
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42 Interview with Laura Brownlees,
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should resolve this difficulty. The
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A number of legal representatives b
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Department at appeals by unaccompan
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Basis Upon Which Appeals Were Allow
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Basis Upon Which Appeals Were Allow
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Recommendations 14 Immigration Rule
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concern the plethora of evidence of
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As a consequence of these restricti
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■ ■ accommodate unaccompanied o
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that the vast majority of referrals
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ecause of long waiting lists and be
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which would have provided for a leg
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screening interview and do not real
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■ 9.9 The interviewer should alwa
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excessive delay in reaching a decis
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children, or anyone who had been re
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appeal. The Asylum Policy Unit has
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and adjudicators rarely prevented t
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22 Information provided by Ailish K
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A P P E N D I X 1 Glossary of Terms
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Bibliography Amnesty International.
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Immigration Advisory Service. Submi
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FOR MORE INFORMATION PHOTOGRAPHY CR
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