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Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference is organised in the scope of the “In whose best interest? Exploring Unaccompanied Minors’ Rights Through the Lens of Migration and Asylum Procedures (MinAs)” research project, co-funded by the PPUAM 2013 of the European Union.

Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

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Page 1: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Someone else’s problem:the concentration of unaccompanied

children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UKJo Wilding

University of Brighton

Conference is organised in the scope of the “In whose best interest? Exploring Unaccompanied Minors’ Rights Through the Lens of Migration and Asylum Procedures (MinAs)” research project, co-funded by the PPUAM 2013 of the European Union.

 

Page 2: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

1.Mapping

2.Effects

3.Solutions?

Page 3: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Children Act 1989

Section 20

Unaccompanied children are looked after by the local authority where

they first come to attention.

Page 4: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Why bother mapping?

“Holding environment”

Capacity to implement best interests

Macro-level context for lived experiences

Page 5: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Number of unaccompanied children looked after by each local authority 2015

Number of unaccompanied children Number of authorities

0 30

1-9 50

10-19 25

20-29 13

30-39 13

40-49 8

50-99 2

100+ 5

Page 6: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Number of unaccompanied children looked after by each local authority 2015

0 1 to 9 10 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49 50 to 100 100+0

10

20

30

40

50

60Number of local authorities

Page 7: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Number of unaccompanied children looked after by each local authority - 2001

Number of unaccompanied children Number of authorities

0-20 98

21-50 9

51-100 8

100+ 3

1000+ 2 (Kent and London)

Page 8: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

The London Boroughs

http://directory.londoncouncils.gov.uk/

Page 9: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

0-20 21-50 51-100 100+ 1000+0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Number of unaccompanied children per authority: 2001Number of author-

ities

Page 10: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

220

296364 369

416

629

772802

Total numbers of UASC aged 17 or under in Kent County Council’s care

May 2014

May 2015

July 2015

16 months

October 5th 2015

Page 11: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Monthly UASC referrals to Kent County Council’s (KCC’s) social care

Jan. 2015

Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. In the first 6 days of October

Total

31 16 31 13 41 103 182 95 97 44 653

Page 12: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Key issues from a best interests perspective:

• Foster placements / accommodation

• Education places

• Health care – physical and mental

• Formal support / social worker time

• Legal representatives’ capacity

• Informal support

Page 13: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Accommodation

Aged 15 or under Aged 16 or 17

Foster care

Children’s home

Foster care

Semi-independent 

accommodation

Reception centre (short term)

Page 14: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

The family, the whole environment, when you’re with a family you have a family when you come home, family around you to talk to, hot food to eat, suddenly you’re by yourself, you have to do everything by yourself, food, pay bills, many things by yourself. It would be better, absolutely, to stay with a family for longer.

Stefan – moved from foster care at 16

Page 15: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Breakfast - eggs, lunch - eggs, dinner - eggs. No change. Robel,  15  (age  deemed  to  be  17  by  the authorities,  living  in  semi-independent accommodation)

Page 16: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Education 

• free and compulsory up to the age of 18

• can  include  apprenticeships  or  other training for 16 to 18

• local authority must offer a school place for all children regardless of immigration status

Page 17: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

17

“We had a college… that created lots of places and was

very inclusive of this cohort and that was obviously an

attractive place for us to be placing these young people

because we knew there was a good college there

… but that district council became quite disturbed about

their community cohesion and that college no longer does

ESOL.”

Senior manager, Kent

Page 18: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

[A]side from our asylum seeking population there is very little indigenous experience in Kent of the sorts of health problems that present in this cohort. That would look very different in the London boroughs or some of our colleagues up in the north where they’ve got much greater mixed ethnic populations [than] we have got here in Kent.

Senior manager

Health

Page 19: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Psychological health care:

Through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) within National Health Service

Through charities

Under-resourced in all parts of the country

Page 20: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

The few kids I’ve got from Kent, have got into some kind of trouble [for minor criminal offences], perhaps because of being kind of left.

Lawyer 1

Formal support

Page 21: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Children did not know who their social worker was.

At crisis point, children not being allocated a social worker.

Children placed outside the area – limiting contact with social worker.

Page 22: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Legal representation

Page 23: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Legal aid contract:

Page 24: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Informal support

Importance of the “significant adult”

No right to family reunion

Family tracing rare

Page 25: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Solutions?

Children Act framework

vs

Disadvantages of concentration

Page 26: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Pan-London protocol

Rota for sharing responsibility between London boroughs

BUT 

Limited effect

Croydon 412 ; Camden 10

Page 27: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Kent Safe Case Transfer pilot - 2002

3 x 10 boys aged 16-17

Transferred with consent to Greater Manchester

Voluntary assumption of responsibility

Successful but not continued

Page 28: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

The Specialist Authorities model

Home Office proposal

50-60 specialist authorities

“A more rational system”

No extra funding  no bids for specialist status

Page 29: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

France

Concentrations in Paris, Lille and Marseilles

Circular of 2013

5 days’ funding to assess

Placement in allocated department 

Quota for each department to accept

Thanks to Corentin Bailleul for information

Page 30: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

BUT:

Resistance because of inadequate funding

“Compulsory” but not binding

Reception suspended  - quotas reached

Long delays in assessment  private life formed

Allocation regardless of child’s views 

Double assessment 

Thanks to Corentin Bailleul for information

Page 31: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Austria

Bund operates reception centres

Bund delegates to one of 9 Länder

Allocation to Land according to distribution key

Legal responsibility passes to allocated Land

Thanks to Ayse Dursun for information

Page 32: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

BUT:

Tensions over funding

Delays in offers of accommodation

Delays in appointment of guardian

Page 33: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Language“burden”

“claimed”

“dispersal”

“problem”

“crisis”

“protection”

“care”

“responsibility”

Page 34: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Key issues in responsibility sharing

Funding

Legal responsibility

Political and public attitude

Parallel with Europe’s “Dublin” system?

Page 35: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference
Page 36: Someone else’s problem: the concentration of unaccompanied children and lack of responsibility sharing in the UK Jo Wilding University of Brighton Conference

Thanks

Professor Marie-Bénédicte Dembour

Corentin Bailleul and Ayse Dursun for information about responsibility sharing in 

France and Austria

Project Partners

All interviewees, especially the children