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Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 203K in my name, which is supported by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford, who is sorry she cannot be in her place. I thank the Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium for its assistance. The amendment would introduce a statutory requirement for the Government to publish and implement guidance on the resettlement of children and families of children. It would ensure that such guidance is subject to parliamentary scrutiny and reflects our domestic and international legal obligations to protect children affected by forced displacement. It would complement other amendments, in particular from my noble friend Lord Dubs and from the Lib Dem Benches, which I support.

Children are disproportionately affected by conflict and persecution: they face heightened risks of exploitation, trafficking, abuse and long-term psychological harm. They are fleeing crises in countries such as Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan and Eritrea. Most have no access to safe or regular routes for protection. While the UK resettlement scheme prioritises children and adolescents at risk, there is no statutory guidance to ensure that their specific needs are met consistently across the country. Implementation varies widely, and local authorities are left without a clear framework to deliver trauma-informed care, education access and safeguarding support.

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This amendment is particularly urgent, given, as already noted, the Government’s recently announced steps to curtail safe routes following the suspension of the refugee family reunion route. My understanding, following the noble Lord, is that it is a permanent change, not a temporary pause. Refugees sponsoring family members, including children, must now meet the same stringent criteria as other migrants, such as the £29,000 income threshold. To underline the point, these changes close one of the few remaining safe and legal routes for children to reunite with their family and risk breaching the UK’s obligations under the

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on Human Rights and the 1951 refugee convention.

UNHCR has made it clear that family unity is a human right and that states have a legal responsibility to enable safe reunion. These new restrictions will leave children trapped in conflict zones, increase their vulnerability to exploitation and push families towards dangerous journeys that we are supposed to be trying to bring to an end. We must also acknowledge that resettlement numbers have fallen to record low levels. In 2024, only 3,675 children were resettled under Afghan-related schemes, and just 2,015 so far this year. At a time when global displacement has reached levels not seen since the Second World War, the UK cannot develop a robust and credible protection policy if it looks at asylum in isolation and ignores the impact of closing safe and regular routes. Without these routes, people, including children, are left with no choice but to risk their lives in small boats or in the hands of smugglers.

Finally, I will address the Government’s repeated claim that expanding safe routes acts as a pull factor, or that allowing family reunion encourages families to send children ahead as so-called “anchors”. This argument is simply not supported by evidence. A leaked Home Office review and the Migration Advisory Committee have both concluded that family reunion policies do not currently drive irregular migration. Decisions are shaped by factors such as language, diaspora links and historical ties, not by the hope of future sponsorship. Suggesting otherwise not only misrepresents the evidence but risks justifying policies that put children in harm’s way.

The amendment we are proposing does not create new entitlements; it simply ensures that resettlement is delivered in a way that protects children and upholds the values of compassion and decency that this House has long championed. It strengthens accountability, supports local authorities and fills a critical gap in our humanitarian response. At a time when safe routes are being closed and children are being placed at greater risk, it offers a practical and principled way forward. I urge noble Lords to support it.