Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 13 December 2007.

Immigration: X-rays

Question: My Lords, the Minister said that it was plus or minus two years. When you are trying to establish the age of an unaccompanied child for immigration purposes, that is very unsatisfactory. Have not two local authorities piloted other procedures which are satisfactory? Is the Minister aware of them?

Answer: My Lords, as I stated, we use the X-ray technique in conjunction with other measures such as social workers talking to these people and assessing their age by other means. When these are put together as a package it is very useful. We are talking about significant numbers of people coming in and claiming to be of this age. About 3,000 unaccompanied children come into the country every year and in the region of 1,000 to 2,000 people claim to be of this age. There are very serious issues here. If we put an adult into the children’s arena it raises serious child protection issues when he gains access to their support, accommodation and so on. It is extremely important to try to narrow down the age.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 697 c320
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Children Asylum Age Immigration controls Medical examinations X-rays
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk