Home Office Age Assessment Scheme Endangers Child Refugees, NGOs Demand Immediate Scrapping
A powerful coalition of refugee support organisations has issued a stark demand for the Home Office's national age assessment board to be axed, warning that its "traumatic" and "flawed" processes are putting hundreds of vulnerable children at serious risk.
Coalition Report Exposes Severe Flaws in Assessment Process
The Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium, comprising more than 100 organisations including the Refugee Council, Barnardo's and the NSPCC, has published a damning report analysing the performance of the Home Office's national age assessment board (NAAB). Established in March 2023 to determine the ages of young asylum seekers arriving in the UK, often via small boats, the board employs over 50 social workers to conduct assessments.
However, the report reveals disturbing findings about the board's operations. Some children subjected to these assessments have described feeling that officials are "out to get them," with the process leading to deteriorating mental health including instances of self-harm and suicidal ideation. The report concludes that undergoing a Home Office age assessment is "far more severe and traumatic" than comparable experiences with local authority social workers.
Consequences of Wrongful Age Assessments
The implications of incorrect age determinations are severe and potentially dangerous. Children wrongly assessed as adults face placement in adult accommodation alongside unrelated individuals, exposing them to significant risks. Some have even ended up in adult prisons after being charged with offences related to their journey to the UK, such as steering dinghies.
The report cites a particularly troubling case of a child who arrived at age 15 but was assessed by the Home Office to be seven years older than his true age. He faced criminal charges related to his arrival before being confirmed to be the age he claimed last year, at which point charges against him were dropped.
Systemic Problems and Political Influence Concerns
While the previous government established the body due to concerns about adults "gaming the system" by pretending to be children, Freedom of Information data reveals that many individuals initially declared adults by the Home Office are later confirmed to be children following detailed assessments by local authority social workers.
The report notes that some judges have found the NAAB assessment process flawed, criticising it as adversarial, inconsistent with current guidance, and lacking objectivity. It raises significant concerns that "there is a risk that the political discourse may influence professional judgment, undermining the impartiality required by the code of conduct."
Independent Oversight and Alternative Recommendations
The independent chief inspector for borders and immigration identified concerns about NAAB in a report last summer, while a Home Office-commissioned report by the National Centre for Social Research was largely positive but included the caveat that its sample was small and evidence primarily came from the Home Office and local authorities.
The consortium's report calls for NAAB to be disbanded entirely, with funding redirected to local authorities to enhance their social workers' capacity to conduct age assessments. If the board continues, the report demands independent oversight and insists that local authority decisions to accept young people as children without full age assessments should be respected.
Expert Testimonies Highlight Systemic Failures
Kama Petruczenko, senior policy analyst at the Refugee Council, stated: "NAAB was set up to bring consistency to age checks, but the evidence shows it is putting children at risk. Courts have found its assessments flawed, delays are common and local social workers' judgements are often overridden."
Petruczenko added: "Because NAAB sits inside the Home Office, immigration control and safeguarding are blurred. Children need independent, child-centred, trauma-informed assessments led by local authorities, not adversarial processes that compound existing problems."
Maddie Harris, founder and director of the Humans For Rights Network, reported that children supported by her organisation described NAAB assessments as "interrogatory, hostile and terrifying." She stated: "It is our view that the NAAB often starts from the position that a person is an adult, searching for evidence to fit this narrative."
Home Office Response and Future Considerations
A Home Office spokesperson responded: "Robust age assessments are vital for safeguarding and border integrity, and we continue to improve the service in line with independent recommendations. We will review this report carefully."
The spokesperson added: "The national age assessment board provides specialist, trauma-informed expertise to support local authorities, and all assessments are carried out by qualified social workers following nationally recognised guidance."
The controversy highlights the ongoing tension between immigration control objectives and child protection responsibilities within the UK's asylum system, with refugee organisations demanding fundamental changes to protect vulnerable young arrivals.
