Recommendation 33

It is not clear to us what will constitute a reasonable ground for refusing consent. Clear guidelines must be published setting out the test that will be applied. Further, we are concerned that the threat of adverse inferences may apply pressure to the individual concerned to consent to an age assessment, particularly a young child, who may fear the consequences of refusing to consent to a procedure. There are many reasons why a child may not wish to be subject to a scientific procedure, but they may not be able to communicate the reasons for this. Even if they can articulate Legislative Scrutiny: Nationality and Borders Bill (Parts 1, 2 and 4) – Asylum, Home Office 75 Decision-Making, Age Assessments, and Deprivation of Citizenship Orders their reasons, it is not clear whether the Home Office will consider their concerns to be “reasonable”. We suggest that refusal to consent to scientific procedures should not be taken into account when assessing the credibility of an age-disputed person who may be a child.