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Proceeding contribution from Vicky Ford (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Monday, 17 July 2023. It occurred during Debate on bill on Illegal Migration Bill.


Illegal Migration Bill

I thank my right hon. Friend for making it clear that, if there is any doubt about the age of an unaccompanied child, they will be treated as a child. I also thank him for saying that, if a child is detained, it will be in an age-appropriate centre. However, on the issue of what is age-appropriate, I will just say that I have looked at the operating standards to which he referred. It is an 82-page document. It has no mention of unaccompanied children. It talks about who looks after the locks and hinges and where the tools and the ladders are to be stored, but there is nothing about how we keep these children happy, healthy and safe from harm. I point him instead to the guidance for children’s care homes and ask him gently if we could update the rules on detention centres to make sure that they look more like the rules we have for safeguarding children in care homes.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
736 c643 
Session
2022-23
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Children Appeals Asylum Detainees Deportation Families Human rights Immigration controls Undocumented migrants Human trafficking International law France Standards Temporary accommodation Slavery Social workers Albania Afghanistan Rwanda National Crime Agency LGBT+ people UK relations with EU Immigration removal centres People smuggling
Legislation
Illegal Migration Bill 2022-23
Detention Centre Rules 2001
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on hansard.parliament.uk