Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-08
Topic: Immigration
Keith Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I begin by thanking noble Lords who have tabled amendments and contributed to the debate for the thoughtful reflection on the clauses in the Bill which those amendments embody Many people who claim to be children when arriving in the UK do not have any definitive documentary evidence to support their claimed age. Unfortunately, some individuals seek to take advantage of the benefits of being treated as a child. A person’s age has serious consequences for their eligibility to access services under children’s legislation, and it also has significant ramifications for their treatment under the immigration system, so it is absolutely vital that the Home Office has sufficient information about a person’s age There are serious safeguarding risks associated with wrongly allowing adults to access services and spaces that should be properly reserved for genuine children, and vice-versa. It can also incur considerable financial costs to the taxpayer and undermine the integrity of the system. It has social costs, as parents and children become uneasy about the classrooms that their children inhabit—I am referring to the concerns raised by my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe. These reforms are intended to be a package of separate but complementary reforms designed to mitigate those risks. It is likely that the full implementation of these measures will take some time and occur in stages after the Bill has passed. It is also important to note that the age assessment provisions apply only to those individuals who are subject to immigration control As part of these reforms, the Government are establishing a decision-making function in the Home Office known as the national age assessment board, which will have the power to conduct age assessments on people whose claimed age is in doubt. It will not apply to every child or people who are obviously children but to those whose claimed age is in doubt. This is an important measure that will provide local authorities with three options upon encountering an age-disputed person. In such circumstances, the local authority can voluntarily refer the person to the NAAB, carry out an age assessment itself or inform the Home Office that it is satisfied that an age-disputed person is the age they claim to be. The Government want this to be a collaborative effort between central and local government, so that improvements in the system can be driven forward. I assure the Committee that age assessments will be conducted only where there is reason to doubt an individual’s claimed age. Under Clause 52, the Secretary of State may make regulations setting out the principles and processes to be followed by those undertaking age assessments. These regulations will apply to local authorities and the NAAB will create a clear and uniform set of standards and support decision-makers in achieving greater consistency Many noble Baronesses in the Committee expressed concerns about the scientific aspect of these tests. Let me make it abundantly clear: the Government do not claim that any scientific method in contemplation is, of itself—to borrow a phrase expressed by a noble Lord opposite—a silver bullet. Even where age assessments are conducted thoroughly and reach reasoned conclusions, they are fraught with difficulty. The Government recognise that. That is why we see these scientific methods, if they are found to come up to scratch, as potentially augmenting a process of understanding and giving a view as to a person’s age. At present, such methods have a wide margin of error. There have been examples where such assessments have been conducted on the same individual by different social workers and which came to different conclusions about that person’s age. Given that context, the use of scientific age assessments represents an additional and important source of evidence to help decision-makers in what we accept is a difficult task. In answer to the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, we make no claim that any method provides a complete answer. Rather, methods are complementary to one another and build up the available data Reference has been made to practice elsewhere. As stated by the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, I point out that various scientific methods of age assessment are already in use across most European countries. In Finland and Norway, for example, X-rays are taken to examine development of the teeth and the fusion of bones in the wrist. Given the challenges of assessing an individual’s age, we see no good reason why the use of such techniques should not also be properly explored in this country. Again in answer to the noble Baroness’s point in relation to ionising radiation, I should say that dental X-rays are an acknowledged diagnostic tool used by dentists in this country and the use of ionising radiation in this country is tightly regulated.