Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 places a legal duty on the Secretary of State to make arrangements for ensuring immigration, asylum, nationality and general customs functions are carried out with regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.

This legal duty requires us to develop policy in respect of children through the lens of safeguarding, welfare as well as the best interests of children as primary (although not the only consideration), as set out in our statutory guidance.

Accordingly, as policy development continues on this government’s asylum and immigration reforms, my policy teams will complete Home Office Children’s Impact Assessments. Section 55 is a bespoke statutory duty for the Home Office, and it is not an equivalent to assessments conducted by other government departments.

Home Office Ministers have committed to complete Children’s Impact Assessments in accordance with Section 55 but have made no such commitments to complete Children’s Rights Impact Assessments.

Responsibility for age assessment sits between the Home Office and local authorities. Local authorities are required to determine whether they have obligations towards an individual under the relevant children’s legislation and the Home Office needs to establish age for immigration purposes. Both are subject to legal duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Throughout 2026, Facial Age Estimation (FAE) technology will continue to undergo rigorous testing, ahead of expected implementation in 2027 for small boat arrivals at Western Jet Foil, where quick decisions are critical. This testing is being carried out across diverse groups, including different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, indicating promising performance and accuracy. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) - world leading in establishing the most accurate metrology standards, science and technology, has been commissioned to carry out the independent review of testing and trial reports produced by the Home Office.

Testing and assurance is ongoing. Equalities impacts, the impacts on children (including our duties under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009) are being considered through ongoing testing, independent analysis and policy development, in line with legal advice and public sector equality duty obligations. In addition to the introduction of FAE technology, we have also begun work to utilise the regulation-making power under section 53 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, to codify the manner in which age assessments under sections 50 and 51 of the Act must be conducted.

These regulations, which would apply to decisions made both by local authorities and the National Age Assessment Board, will enable the creation of a clear and uniform set of standards and support decision-makers to achieve greater consistency in the way age is assessed, as well as endeavouring to ensure assessments can be carried out in a more efficient, proportionate manner. The regulations will be supported by detailed guidance for those conducting these assessments and will consolidate existing best practice principles and other existing published guidance, which follow caselaw set by the courts. Existing guidance will remain relevant until subsequent guidance is published.

We are planning targeted engagement to draw on the expertise and experience of specific relevant stakeholders, including local authorities and the Department for Education, and hearing children’s voices, which will be essential to the development of the regulations and guidance.

Responsibility for age assessment sits between the Home Office and local authorities. Local authorities are required to determine whether they have obligations towards an individual under the relevant children’s legislation and the Home Office needs to establish age for immigration purposes. Both are subject to legal duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Throughout 2026, Facial Age Estimation (FAE) technology will continue to undergo rigorous testing, ahead of expected implementation in 2027 for small boat arrivals at Western Jet Foil, where quick decisions are critical. This testing is being carried out across diverse groups, including different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, indicating promising performance and accuracy. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) - world leading in establishing the most accurate metrology standards, science and technology, has been commissioned to carry out the independent review of testing and trial reports produced by the Home Office.

Testing and assurance is ongoing. Equalities impacts, the impacts on children (including our duties under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009) are being considered through ongoing testing, independent analysis and policy development, in line with legal advice and public sector equality duty obligations. In addition to the introduction of FAE technology, we have also begun work to utilise the regulation-making power under section 53 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, to codify the manner in which age assessments under sections 50 and 51 of the Act must be conducted.

These regulations, which would apply to decisions made both by local authorities and the National Age Assessment Board, will enable the creation of a clear and uniform set of standards and support decision-makers to achieve greater consistency in the way age is assessed, as well as endeavouring to ensure assessments can be carried out in a more efficient, proportionate manner. The regulations will be supported by detailed guidance for those conducting these assessments and will consolidate existing best practice principles and other existing published guidance, which follow caselaw set by the courts. Existing guidance will remain relevant until subsequent guidance is published.

We are planning targeted engagement to draw on the expertise and experience of specific relevant stakeholders, including local authorities and the Department for Education, and hearing children’s voices, which will be essential to the development of the regulations and guidance.

Responsibility for age assessment sits between the Home Office and local authorities. Local authorities are required to determine whether they have obligations towards an individual under the relevant children’s legislation and the Home Office needs to establish age for immigration purposes. Both are subject to legal duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Throughout 2026, Facial Age Estimation (FAE) technology will continue to undergo rigorous testing, ahead of expected implementation in 2027 for small boat arrivals at Western Jet Foil, where quick decisions are critical. This testing is being carried out across diverse groups, including different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, indicating promising performance and accuracy. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) - world leading in establishing the most accurate metrology standards, science and technology, has been commissioned to carry out the independent review of testing and trial reports produced by the Home Office.

Testing and assurance is ongoing. Equalities impacts, the impacts on children (including our duties under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009) are being considered through ongoing testing, independent analysis and policy development, in line with legal advice and public sector equality duty obligations. In addition to the introduction of FAE technology, we have also begun work to utilise the regulation-making power under section 53 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, to codify the manner in which age assessments under sections 50 and 51 of the Act must be conducted.

These regulations, which would apply to decisions made both by local authorities and the National Age Assessment Board, will enable the creation of a clear and uniform set of standards and support decision-makers to achieve greater consistency in the way age is assessed, as well as endeavouring to ensure assessments can be carried out in a more efficient, proportionate manner. The regulations will be supported by detailed guidance for those conducting these assessments and will consolidate existing best practice principles and other existing published guidance, which follow caselaw set by the courts. Existing guidance will remain relevant until subsequent guidance is published.

We are planning targeted engagement to draw on the expertise and experience of specific relevant stakeholders, including local authorities and the Department for Education, and hearing children’s voices, which will be essential to the development of the regulations and guidance.

Data relating to people receiving asylum support is published on GOV.UK as part of the immigration system statistics quarterly release. The latest information, from the year ending March 2026, is available in the data set ‘Asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support’.

This data includes those in receipt of section 95 and section 4 support. Those receiving section 4 support are failed asylum seekers i.e. those whose asylum claims have been refused or declared inadmissible. The data for the period ending March 2026 shows, 4,745 people were in receipt of section 4 support. Within the published section 95 data, families with dependent children who have have had their asylum claims refused will be included, however, we do not currently publish data for the section 95 cohort by claim outcome.

The Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns consultation launched on Thursday 5 March and closed on Friday 5 June.

The Government is currently analysing the consultation responses and will issue its response on GOV.UK once the analysis has been completed.

As set out in the King’s Speech, and as part of a wider programme of reform, we will require individuals who have received taxpayer-funded accommodation and other support to contribute to the cost borne by the British taxpayer when they are able to do so.

The detailed mechanisms for enforcing these arrangements are being developed. Details will be shared in due course, including as part of any legislative process.

The Home Office is aware of the Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium (RMCC) briefing.

Published Immigration Statistics indicate that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) received 2,328 grants of protection or other leave at initial decision in the Year-Ending (YE) March 2026. The grant rate of UASC claims was 58% in the YE March 2026, higher than for non-UASC claims (39%). The UASC grant rate at initial decision has fallen in each year since 2021 and so a lower grant rate in 2026 is consistent with the overall trend. This is also consistent with the general trend of a fall in the initial grant rate across all claims.

All asylum claims are considered on their individual merits in line with the relevant legislation and published policy including ‘Processing Children’s Claims’ guidance and country information. Decisions are made by caseworkers specifically trained to handle claims from children, who are instructed to take factors including age and maturity into account when assessing credibility and risk on return.

The grant rate can vary for a number of reasons, including the mix of nationalities claiming asylum, and the protection needs of those who claim asylum in the UK. It is also affected by operational resourcing and policy decisions, such as changes to the types of cases prioritised for decisions. The Home Office guidance on caseworking prioritisation is published on GOV.UK.

Regarding the statistics available on unaccompanied children, a breakdown on the number of cases awaiting an appeal outcome and awaiting removal is not currently available beyond June 2024 due to work on the transition to a new caseworking system, though work is ongoing to reinstate the data and figures. Once reporting resumes, future publications should be able to provide disaggregated figures.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

The Government is working closely with European partners, sharing intelligence and disrupting organisers upstream to prevent further launches and deter illegal crossings of the Channel.

The Border Security Command has been designed to rapidly pivot to new threats and gang tactics as they emerge. The rise of small boat launches from the Belgian coast is evidence of smugglers adapting and the UK Government is determined to provide any necessary support to prevent Belgium becoming a viable launch location.

The UK works closely with Belgian authorities and on 12 December 2025, our respective Prime Minister’s signed a joint statement which committed to stepping up our joint action to prevent irregular migration through closer UK–Belgium cooperation, including on returns, information sharing, security technology and operations.

Minister Norris visited Belgium in March and held discussions with the Belgian Government and law enforcement agencies to tackle small boat launches. We continue to deepen our bilateral, regional and multilateral engagement to tackle root causes and strengthen law enforcement cooperation.

Law Enforcement teams have already been bolstered along the Belgium coast and along the French-Belgian border. Alongside this, the NCA has increased its overseas presence - including officers deployed across Europe and within Europol - ensuring faster intelligence flow and stronger joint operational effect.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all immigration and asylum decisions, and to safeguarding children from harm, including the risk of exploitation and trafficking.

Section 32 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 clarifies the framework for assessing protection claims by requiring decision-makers to take a forward-looking view of risk on return, based on established principles under the Refugee Convention and human rights law. All asylum claims are considered on their individual merits in line with the relevant legislation and published policy including ‘Processing Children’s Claims’ guidance and country information. Decisions are made by caseworkers specifically trained to handle claims from children, who are instructed to take factors including age and maturity into account when assessing credibility and risk on return.

Safeguarding considerations, including indicators of trafficking or modern slavery, remain an integral part of all asylum decision-making and are considered on a case-by-case basis in line with published guidance.

Whatever form it takes, exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery is child abuse and relevant child protection procedures must be followed if this is suspected.

Child victims of exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking are supported through a range of support systems. This includes statutory local authority support, the Government-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service (where available) and county lines specialist support services.

Impact assessments, including consideration of the impacts to care leavers, will be undertaken and informed by the family returns consultation outcome and subsequent policy development. Any impact assessments will be finalised in advance of any decision to commence schedules 11 and 12 to the Immigration Act 2016.

An addendum correcting numbering errors identified in the Family Returns Consultation, as launched on 5 March 2026, was sent to stakeholders on 14 March. These minor corrections do not affect the substance of the proposals.

To allow proper consideration of the updated information, the consultation period has been extended by one week and will now end on 4 June 2026.

Since 5 March, officials have continued to engage with stakeholders to support informed responses.

The Home Office did not receive any advice from the Propriety, Ethics and Constitution team in the Cabinet Office prior to launching the Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns consultation on 5 March. This team provides advice on the interpretation of the Consultation Principles, but not on how to run specific consultations.

The consultation was developed and launched in line with the Cabinet Office’s Consultation Principles, including ensuring clarity of scope, openness to a wide range of views and appropriate duration. The consultation document sets out clearly the proposals under consideration, the questions on which views are sought and how responses will be used.

As no such advice was received, there are no plans to publish it.

The consultation, launched on 5 March, has been shared with a range of expert stakeholders across government, the third sector and beyond, including local authorities. A copy was also deposited in the libraries of both Houses and can be found online.

There will be a range of workshops and engagements over the coming weeks to maximise reach and engagement.

Work is underway to create the Protection Work and Study route. Further details on the new route, including the eligibility criteria, will be set out in due course.

Data relating to people receiving section 95 support is published on GOV.UK as part of the immigration system statistics quarterly release. You can find the latest information in the data set from year ending December 2025 ‘Asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support’. We do not currently publish data on those in receipt of support to the level of their family and appeal status.

Home Office officials keep the asylum accommodation estate under continual review. As part of this estate management, operational adjustments are made on an ongoing basis to ensure sufficient and suitable capacity is maintained to meet expected levels of demand.

As the department reduces its reliance on hotel accommodation, individuals and families, including women and children, are moved into more appropriate longer‑term forms of asylum accommodation within the existing estate. This includes dispersal accommodation and, where required, other contingency arrangements that meet the necessary standards for safety and suitability.

The Home Office is committed to ensuring that destitute asylum seekers are provided with safe, secure and appropriate accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity throughout the asylum process.

In line with the Allocation of Accommodation policy, accommodation is offered on a no‑choice basis across the United Kingdom. Where an individual has specific, acute needs that require them to be accommodated in a particular area, established processes supported by Migrant Help and asylum support casework teams are in place to consider such circumstances.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Reforms across the immigration and asylum system introduce significant changes, and these will affect children. We will work with external stakeholders to shape policy development, including elements which will impact children.

Children are not a homogeneous cohort, and careful consideration will be given as to how children will be impacted when policy frameworks are applied in respect of them, in line with Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

There is no legal requirement to publish Child’s Impact Assessments and to commit to do so would be premature given that for many of the measures, policy development is ongoing. The decision on whether to publish will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. Contributions will now be analysed, and the findings will support the development of the final model. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.

Economic and equality impact assessments will be conducted on the final model and also published in due course.

My Lords, my noble friend makes a really important point. Any of us who met people with lived experience as part of this process have learned things that we will never forget. The most memorable one for me was when I met a young woman. When she was a child, her family was evicted from social housing. It was a very difficult experience. She was part of a project that used her experience to talk to decision-makers. She was asked to talk to the senior person at the social housing association that had evicted her. As a result of hearing her story, the housing association changed its policy on managing rent arrears. Instead of focusing just on how to evict people, it focused on how to spot problems early, to stop people getting into trouble, to protect the family and to enable them to carry on and thrive. That was such a great example, and every time our officials learn this they know that we are hearing things that we will carry on doing. The Timms review has been co-produced with people from disabled organisations, the universal credit review has had extensive engagements, and the child poverty unit in the DWP will carry on doing that too.

Policy development is ongoing for reforms across the across the asylum and immigration system. Child impact assessments will be conducted throughout the policy development process to consider the impact of the reforms on children, in accordance with Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.