UK 'failing' child asylum seekers

Child asylum seekers need better care, says the report

Refugee children fleeing from persecution to the UK are being dumped in unsuitable accommodation without proper support, says a report by the Refugee Council.

Many have fled "unimaginably horrific" situations having witnessed torture or the murder of family members, according to a report commissioned by the organisation and Save the Children.

But on arrival in Britain they face a "lottery" in access to services, due to a "general lack of co-ordination" in provision, the report found.

Many children, some as young as 15, are housed in bed and breakfasts and expected to look after themselves as adults.

The level of support...can be a lottery

Judy Lister
Save the Children

Last year, 2,735 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in the UK.

The report - entitled Separated Children in the UK - investigated what happens to children once they reach the UK.

It examined how the immigration system and social services treated them, what legal representation was offered and the standard of accommodation provided.

Although the UK fared better than other European countries in some respects, the report highlighted areas of "significant concern", such as anomalies in government funding to local authorities.

Any child is a child first and foremost and a refugee second

Margaret Lally
Refugee Council

Many children are granted only temporary immigration status, which can heighten fears they will be returned.

Fear of racial violence in the UK can add to the trauma they had already experienced, the report suggested.

The report's authors called for greater co-ordination between government departments to ensure high quality care.

Judy Lister, of Save the Children, said: "The level of support an unaccompanied refugee child receives from the local authority can be a lottery and one of the most worrying practices is that of placing young people in unsupported accommodation.

"The UK currently lacks a strategic approach to the reception and care of separated children.

"This needs to be addressed if we are to stop vulnerable children falling through the net."

'Priority' cases

Margaret Lally, of the Refugee Council, said: "Separated refugee children are not getting the same level of care as any other child would receive under UK childcare legislation.

"But we should never forget that any child is a child first and foremost and a refugee second.

Unaccompanied minors are not detained other than in the most exceptional circumstances

Home Office spokesman

"We have a duty to these children under domestic and international law and they must be protected."

A Home Office spokesman said unaccompanied child refugees were given priority over other asylum seekers.

"The government fully appreciates the potential vulnerability of unaccompanied children and the distress they may experience while awaiting a decision.

"That is why particular priority and care will always be given to the handling of these applications.

"Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are assessed by local authorities on the same basis as any other child presenting as a possible child in need.

"Unaccompanied minors are not detained other than in the most exceptional circumstances and when it is in their best interests and then only overnight with appropriate care."