Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 31
31
Significant failings in age assessment lead to children in adult asylum accommodation
Conclusion
There are significant failings in the current processes for making initial decisions about age and unreliable decisions are still leading to children being incorrectly placed in adult accommodation. We do not have confidence that the arrangements for accommodation providers to identify and refer age dispute cases to the relevant local authority are consistently working as they should. This risks children being incorrectly accommodated in the adult asylum system, often in a shared room. This is a serious safeguarding issue. We welcome the department’s acceptance of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s recommendations to improve its age assessment processes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 128)
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 22 January 2026. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗