Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child refugees have been accepted by the UK under the Immigration Act 2016.

Mike Penning

The Government is firmly committed to bringing vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, in accordance with the Immigration Act 2016. Over 20 children who meet the criteria in the Act have been accepted for transfer from Europe since Royal Assent, the majority of who have already arrived in the UK.

We are in active discussions with the UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, in addition to the Italian, Greek and French governments, to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer children who meet the criteria to come to the UK where this in their best interests.

As is required by the Immigration Act 2016, we are consulting with local authorities to confirm available capacity and to ensure appropriate support systems are in place.

We cannot put a fixed number on arrivals at this point. The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. It is vital that their capacity and ability to help is taken into account. We must also ensure that we are able to continue to fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.