Literature review: Home Office treatment of unaccompanied asylum seeking children
Literature review by Adrian Matthews on how the Home Office ensures the best interests of the child when conducting its immigration, asylum and nationality functions.
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The Chief inspector commissioned an academic literature review in support of his own inspection into ‘how the Home Office considers the ‘best interests’ of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.’ The commission was awarded through open tender. Adrian Matthews is an Immigration Consultant and formerly Principal Policy Advisor at the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.
Author’s note:
At the point at which this review was submitted to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in July 2017, citations within the review of published Home Office policy, unless stated otherwise, used the current versions available at the time of writing.
It is a measure of this fast-changing policy environment that between the submission of the review in July 2017 and its intended publication in January 2018, some of the key policy guidance documents have been revised and updated.
To assist readers in this task I highlight below where Home Office policy has been revised and updated since the review was submitted.
Family Tracing - Guidance on regulation 6 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2005 - version 1 (12.07.16) has been updated and is now entitled Family Tracing version 2, (28.07.17). This relates to Chapter 4 of the review in particular.
Processing children’s asylum claims - Version 1.0 (12.07.16) has also been updated and revised and re-issued as Children’s Asylum Claims version 2 (09.10.17). This relates in particular to Chapter 2.
While at the time of writing this note, Assessing Age Version 6 (17.06.11) remains on the GOV.UK website a later version has since been added; Assessing Age (26.02.2018). The Assessing Age guidance is considered in Chapter 3 of the review.
An important theme running through Chapters 2 and 3 of the review has been the National Transfer Protocol for unaccompanied children which became operational on 1st July 2016. The launch of the scheme was accompanied by joint guidance from the Department for Education, Home Office and the Department for Communities & Local Government entitled Interim National Transfer Protocol for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children 2016-17 - Version 0.8 (01.07.16). Again, after a year in operation a further draft has been circulated to stakeholders for comment and publication of the revised joint departmental protocol can be expected shortly.
In the context of the National Transfer Protocol for unaccompanied children, the review notes at page 31 in relation to legal aid suppliers in the transfer regions that “responsibility for awarding contracts lies with the Legal Aid Agency, part of the Ministry of Justice” and that “tendering for new contracts in transfer regions has not yet begun”. This is no longer the case. The Legal Aid Agency invited tenders for the three year civil contracts beginning 1st September 2018 on 19th September 2017. Bids, including for Immigration contacts, had to be submitted by 10th November 2017.
Adrian Matthews 14th December 2017