Clause 51 - Asylum-seeker: residence, ÿ restriction
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
6:30 pm
Mr Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat)
The amendment takes us back to the issue of unaccompanied children. I was reassured by the Minister's comments about the induction centre requirements and how unaccompanied children would be dealt with differently. The amendment seeks to align the definition of asylum seeker in the clause with that in clause 16, which, as I have already said, excludes unaccompanied children under 18. The amendment is a way of testing the Government's intentions in imposing restrictions on those who are legally defined as children. It has been a constant and appropriate theme that we continually question the status of children in the system, and I should be interested to know the Minister's intentions. The clause as drafted, in referring to section 50, explicitly includes unaccompanied children in the ability to impose restrictions under the clause.