Contributions
2,215 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenThe hon. Lady makes an important point, and of course I will do that. The evidence from the ICIBI’s report of October 2022 is that the young people it spoke to said that their…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenThe settled position is for a young person to move into local authority care, and for that local authority to accept responsibility for them in the usual way. While a young person…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenWe are putting in place a comprehensive plan to reduce the backlog of cases, and good progress is already being made. With regard to safe and legal routes, this country is a world…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenI respect the hon. Lady’s long experience in local government. I appreciate the challenges faced by local councils, which is why we brought forward this enhanced financial…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenWe do care for these young people, and we take our responsibilities to them very seriously. I have set out the safeguarding procedures we have in place, and we are always keen to…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenWe take all those things into account, which is why we want to ensure that young people get into local authority care, where they can access education. If the hon. Gentleman has…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenI share the hon. Lady’s concern and I have already set out the steps that we have taken so far to ensure that the hotels have significant support attached to them, and the work…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenI have met representatives of local authorities, London Councils and the Local Government Association to raise this issue. They made the points that many Members across the House…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenAs the hon. Member may recall, one of my first priorities was to ensure that the Home Office engaged better with local authorities, and although there is always room for…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenYes.24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenMy hon. Friend is correct. We recently published a report from the Age Estimation Science Advisory Committee on scientific methods to assess the age of asylum seekers and resolve…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenNo one would want to do that. The only alternative to using these settings is for young people to go into good quality, permanent local authority support, and I have already said…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenI am not sure what the hon. Lady is suggesting. If we did not use these hotels, which have a range of security and support staff available to them, is she suggesting that we put…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenIt is wrong to generalise about where all the missing young people go. Some leave hotels to meet up with familial contacts, but my hon. Friend is right to say that others are…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenThese young people are not being put at risk primarily by the Home Office; they are being put at risk by dangerous people smugglers and criminals—those who smuggle them into the…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenMy right hon. Friend is right to say that this is a terrible case, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Thomas Roberts. As he will know, sentencing has yet to take…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenBefore I arrived at the Department in the summer there was already an initial payment to local authorities, which I believe was £6,000 or thereabouts. That did ensure that more…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenI will certainly arrange that. As my hon. Friend knows, Kent has borne a particular burden in this regard, so it is right for us to do everything we can to support it and his…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenLet me say first that there is no pitting of the Home Office against the local authority. The Home Office is working closely with Brighton & Hove City Council, and we have a good…24 Jan 2023HANSARDUnaccompanied Asylum-seeking ChildrenMy hon. Friend is entirely right. This is a serious issue, but it is also a symptom of the problem of people smugglers bringing very large numbers of people across the channel,…24 Jan 2023