§ Baroness Hilton of Eggardonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What status is given to unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the United Kingdom who are found not to qualify for (a) asylum and (b) exceptional leave to remain for humanitarian reasons but who cannot be removed from the United Kingdom. [HL1258]
§ Lord RookerIt is our policy not to remove a failed asylum seeker from the United Kingdom if he or she is unaccompanied and under 18 years of age unless adequate reception arrangements can be made in the country of origin. Until now, if reception arrangements could not be made, four years' exceptional leave to remain has been granted.
We have now decided that if a failed asylum seeker who has no other basis to remain in the United Kingdom is aged between 14 and 17 at the time a decision is made and adequate reception arrangements cannot be made, he or she will be granted a period of exceptional leave until his or her 18th birthday. He or she will be able to apply for further leave at the end of this period in the same way as anyone else but will be expected to leave the United Kingdom if he or she does not so apply or any application is rejected.
If a failed asylum seeker, for whom adequate reception arrangements cannot be made, is still aged under 14 at the time the asylum decision is made, he or she will continue to be granted four years' exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom in view of age and vulnerability. This will enable local authority social services departments to plan for the child's long-term future. The child will then be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom in the same way as adults who have completed four years' exceptional leave. In this way, we are continuing to protect children while they are in need but closing a loophole which affords settlement in the United Kingdom to those who would not normally qualify.