Fears for child asylum-seekers 'dumped in adult B&B accommodation'

Children seeking asylum in Britain are being dumped nsupported in adult bed-and-breakfast accommodation, charities alleged in a report published yesterday.

Save the Children and the Refugee Council claimed many of the children being placed in such accommodation had fled from "unimaginably horrific" situations in which they experienced or witnessed torture. But when seeking safety in Britain, their access to services was a "lottery" because of a "general lack of co-ordination" in the provision of support, the charities said.

The report, titled Separated Children in the UK, examines what happens to asylum-seeking children once they arrive in Britain. Researchers looked at how they treated by the immigration system, the legal representation they receive, how they are looked after by social services and the standard of their accommodation.

It expresses "significant concern" that some separated children, as young as 15, are expected to look after themselves like adults.

Racism and racially motivated attacks in Britain add to the fear and trauma they have already experienced, the report says. Most children are only given temporary immigration status, leaving them in fear of being returned home.

The report calls for more co-ordination between the Home Office, the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills to ensure high-quality care.

Judy Lister, of Save the Children, said: "The level of support an unaccompanied refugee child receives from the local authority can be a lottery and one of the most worrying practices is that of placing young people in unsupported bed-and-breakfast accommodation."

Last year, 2,735 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in Britain, a sharp rise from 190 children in 1992, but fewer than the high of 3,349 in 1999.

Margaret Lally, from the Refugee Council, said: "It's clear from this report that separated refugee children are not getting the same level of care as any other child would receive under UK childcare legislation.

"But we should never forget that any child is a child first and foremost and a refugee second. We have a duty to these children under domestic and international law and they must be protected," she added.

A spokesman for the Home Office said cases of unaccompanied refugee children were given priority over other asylum-seekers.

"The Government fully appreciates the potential vulnerability of unaccompanied children and the distress they may experience while awaiting a decision on their asylum claims," the spokesman said.

"That is why particular priority and care will always be given to the handling of these applications and dedicated caseworkers receive full training on how to deal with such cases," he said.

"Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are assessed by local authorities on the same basis as any other child presenting as a possible child in need. Unaccompanied minors are not detained other than in the most exceptional circumstances and when it is in their best interests and then only overnight with appropriate care."