Clause 19 - Sections 15 to 18: supplementary
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
3:45 pm
Ms Rosie Winterton (Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department; Doncaster Central, Labour)
As the hon. Member for Woking said, amendments Nos. 136 and 137 would prevent the Secretary of State from deciding a person's age when assessing whether they qualify for support in an accommodation centre. It is essential that the Secretary of State is able to make a decision on a person's age to establish which method of support is appropriate. We said that we would not place unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in accommodation centres. If we are to discharge that commitment, the Secretary of State must take a decision on someone's age. There would be little point in the Secretary of State being able to inquire about someone's age, if he could not decide the outcome of that inquiry in a dispute. Some people believe that there is an advantage to concealing their age. An adult may believe that it is better to say that he or she is a minor, as the local authority would be obliged to support an unaccompanied child. That
would enable the person to stay in London if they had arrived there first. It is therefore important to be able not only to inquire about someone's age, but to take a decision on it.
Article 3 of the UN convention on the rights of the child states that
''the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration''
in all actions concerning children. The Committee will be aware that the UK has a reservation on that purely to safeguard our immigration and nationality legislation. That does not inhibit our ability to take full account of the child's best interests.
Amendment No. 241 is unnecessary. Our concern is whether someone is the age that they claim to be. That can be difficult to establish if, for example, they cannot provide any documentary evidence. However, matters will not be improved by requiring the Secretary of State not to take a decision until the applicant has had access to legal advice or assistance and representation. The applicant will be entitled to apply to the relevant social services department for support as an unaccompanied asylum seeker. It is up to the local authority to consider whether there is evidence to back up the claim.
If someone arrives at a port and needs support, they will be referred to a reception assistant for advice, which is provided by members of voluntary organisations who specialise in dealing with migrants and refugees. If they consider an applicant to be a minor, they are likely to refer the person to the social services department for help. If a social services department does not consider the person to be a minor, it will refer them to NASS for consideration of support. In the absence of any other evidence, NASS will be guided by the view of social services.
In that system, if the person obtained judicial review of the move, they would be entitled to legal representation. However, given that the Government do not accept the case for legal advice and representation in the first instance, we see no need for a statutory power to make grants to voluntary organisations, with or without conditions attached, in those circumstances.
I hope that, with those assurances, hon. Members will not feel the need to press the amendment.