UNITED KINGDOM
SCOTLAND
LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT
The UK has received a relatively small number
of refugees compared to other European coun-
tries along major migration routes. According
to Eurostat, 3,175 unaccompanied and sep-
arated children applied for asylum in 2016,
compared with 3,255 in 2015. A proportion of
asylum-seekers arriving in the UK are sent to
Glasgow, as it has been a major dispersal centre
for more than 20 years, although a new transfer
scheme has been introduced which distributes
responsibility for the care of unaccompanied
children among a number of local authorities.
Under the 2016 Immigration Act, also known
as the Dubs amendment, the UK government
committed to offering safe passage to the UK for
a number of unaccompanied and separated chil-
dren, and it was anticipated that around 3,000
children would be received. However, the num-
bers actually admitted are very low. In 2016, 900
unaccompanied and separated children were
transferred to the UK from Europe, including
more than 750 from France. Approximately 200
of these children met the criteria specified in
section 67 of the Immigration Act 1 . In October
2017, there were a total of 365 unaccompanied
and separated children in Scotland.
In accordance with the Children (Scotland)
Act 1995, local authorities are required to
ensure that children in need are provided with
accommodation and support if their needs
cannot otherwise be met. Unaccompanied and
separated children are deemed by the Scottish
Government to meet the threshold of need and
are thus formally admitted to the care system.
The care system, however, has not been adapted
to the specific needs and vulnerabilities of
unaccompanied refugee children. Many organ-
isations throughout the years have highlighted
the lack of independent guardianship provision
and services and have advocated for such
services.
Guardianship provisions for unaccompanied
and separated children were introduced under
the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in England
and Wales and the Human Trafficking and
Exploitation Act 2015 in Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, the Human Trafficking and
Exploitation (Scotland) Act, adopted in 2015,
introduced mandatory guardianship provisions
for unaccompanied children as of 2017. This
requirement applies to unaccompanied and
separated children when there is reason to
believe that they might have been trafficked or
are at risk of trafficking; this group therefore in-
cludes unaccompanied children seeking asylum,
unaccompanied children with refugee status
and undocumented unaccompanied children
that might be at risk of falling into the hands of
trafficking groups. Before 2015, guardianship
services for unaccompanied and separated
children in Scotland were provided by the
Scottish Guardianship Service on a non-statu-
tory basis. Following the adoption of the Human
Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act in
2015, referral of unaccompanied and separated
children to the Scottish Guardianship Service
became mandatory.
Local authorities carry out assessments to
determine the age of asylum seekers. Social
workers conducting such assessments must
be certified and must have received relevant
training. Assessments must be conducted
1 _ “Refugees: Children: Written question 61210”, Parliament, 27 January 2017,
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-01-23/61210/.
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