Recommendation 34

The Government must ensure holistic assessments are undertaken and will not be able to rely upon scientific methods as a replacement for holistic assessments. The use of scientific methods as set out in any regulations in the future will need to be scrutinised to ensure that they do not breach the right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3 ECHR) and the right to privacy (Article 8 ECHR). If it is the case that scientific methods will not offer any greater accuracy than the current holistic methodology, the use of such methods may not constitute necessary and proportionate incursions of the right to privacy. Further, we suggest that where holistic assessments already exist as an alternative, it would not be in the best interests of the child to subject them to scientific procedures. (Paragraph 221) Deprivation of citizenship orders