PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Asylum: Children (2 July 2019)

Age assessment is a highly complex and challenging area of work. There is no single method or combination of methods which can accurately predict age. The Home Office’s approach reflects our commitment to promote and safeguard the welfare of all children. A key part of this is identifying adults who are seeking to pass themselves off as children and ensuring that children are correctly identified at the earliest opportunity.

Where clear and credible documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the process to assess whether a person is under 18. In these circumstances, the Home Office will treat a person claiming to be a child as an adult only where their physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggest they are 25 years of age or over.

When there is doubt about an individual’s claim to be a child, Home Office policy is to refer them to the relevant local authority to carry out a careful “Merton compliant” age assessment, which must be carried out by two social workers and must adhere to guidelines set out by the Courts.

The Home Office keeps its policies and processes under review and we remain committed to striking the right balance between ensuring that children who claim asylum are appropriately supported and maintaining the integrity of the asylum system by preventing adults being treated as children.