Due to the operational nature of the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), the costs are subject to change and are currently not published. The Home Office continues to keep all aspects of the immigration system under review, including the best process for conducting age assessments.

The number of age assessments undertaken by the National Age Assessment Board that were subject to a legal challenge was 22 in total (1 in 2023 and 21 in 2024).

20 of the 22 age assessments decisions were successfully defended (91%).

The introduction of the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) in March 2023, a decision-making body comprising of social workers who can conduct Merton age assessments on behalf of local authorities, offers significant improvements to our processes for assessing age. It aims to create greater consistency in age assessment practices and increase capacity and expertise in the system.

We have gone to great lengths to ensure that the NAAB is distinct from the Home Office’s asylum and immigration decision making functions and the two sit under separate management functions. In addition, the information acquired by the NAAB when conducting age assessments is not accessible to asylum and immigration decision making teams, other than the final decision on age.

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

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.

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

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.

The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) is in the process of recruiting and training suitably experienced social workers who can carry out age assessments on behalf of the Home Office and will expand into wider regions as social worker capacity builds up. We will continue to review and monitor the impact of this Board.

As of 20 April 2023, 16 social workers had completed the recruitment process and were employed to serve on the Board. This is in line with our projections for onboarding.

Further recruitment is ongoing.

The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) launched on 31 March 2023. The NAAB aims to make age assessments more consistent and robust from the outset, reducing the safeguarding risks of individuals being incorrectly assessed. The service is currently limited to working with a small number of local authorities in London and West Midland regions with a view to expanding out nationally as we build up capacity. We will continue to monitor the impact of the National Age Assessment Board on customer behaviour.

As a precursor to the NAAB the Home Office has been offering an age assessment facility to local authorities to boost capacity, build experience and establish working relationships and processes in time for NAAB launch. Local authorities and other key stakeholders are engaged in this process and key findings will be built into the development of the formal NAAB processes.

If an assessment is conducted by a local authority the Home Office considers the assessment alongside other relevant evidence before a final decision is made for immigration purposes – this includes checking whether the assessment was conducted in compliance with caselaw. Decisions on age for immigration purposes fall within the remit of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration which monitors and reports on the effectiveness of the Home Office’s immigration and asylum functions.

The Home Office publishes data on the number of age disputes and outcomes in table Asy_D05 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data covers up to November 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’. The statistics do not currently distinguish between those who have been assessed to be significantly over 18 and others who have been age disputed but referred directly to a local authority for further assessment.

The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) is in the process of recruiting and training suitably experienced social workers who can carry out age assessments on behalf of the Home Office. A launch date will be communicated as soon as possible.

The National Age Assessment Board will predominantly consist of qualified social workers who, through being dedicated to the task of conducting age assessments and the sharing of expertise, will seek to achieve a consistent and accurate approach to the task of age assessment.

The board will have responsibility for conducting age assessments on age disputed persons, upon referral from a local authority, although local authorities will still retain the right to conduct age assessments themselves if they prefer to do so.

Recruitment plans for the Board are still in development and will be in line with Civil Service recruitment policy and processes. The development of the recruitment plans will include engagement with relevant partners. There is no intention to publish the names of members of staff of the NAAB.

A gov.uk webpage is being created for the Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Council and will contain a list of committee members.

The National Age Assessment Board will predominantly consist of qualified social workers who, through being dedicated to the task of conducting age assessments and the sharing of expertise, will seek to achieve a consistent and accurate approach to the task of age assessment.

The board will have responsibility for conducting age assessments on age disputed persons, upon referral from a local authority, although local authorities will still retain the right to conduct age assessments themselves if they prefer to do so.

Recruitment plans for the Board are still in development and will be in line with Civil Service recruitment policy and processes. The development of the recruitment plans will include engagement with relevant partners. There is no intention to publish the names of members of staff of the NAAB.

A gov.uk webpage is being created for the Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Council and will contain a list of committee members.

The National Age Assessment Board will predominantly consist of qualified social workers who, through being dedicated to the task of conducting age assessments and the sharing of expertise, will seek to achieve a consistent and accurate approach to the task of age assessment.

The board will have responsibility for conducting age assessments on age disputed persons, upon referral from a local authority, although local authorities will still retain the right to conduct age assessments themselves if they prefer to do so.

Recruitment plans for the Board are still in development and will be in line with Civil Service recruitment policy and processes. The development of the recruitment plans will include engagement with relevant partners. There is no intention to publish the names of members of staff of the NAAB.

A gov.uk webpage is being created for the Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Council and will contain a list of committee members.

The National Age Assessment Board will predominantly consist of qualified social workers who, through being dedicated to the task of conducting age assessments and the sharing of expertise, will seek to achieve a consistent and accurate approach to the task of age assessment.

The board will have responsibility for conducting age assessments on age disputed persons, upon referral from a local authority, although local authorities will still retain the right to conduct age assessments themselves if they prefer to do so.

Recruitment plans for the Board are still in development and will be in line with Civil Service recruitment policy and processes. The development of the recruitment plans will include engagement with relevant partners. There is no intention to publish the names of members of staff of the NAAB.

A gov.uk webpage is being created for the Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Council and will contain a list of committee members.