Miranda Butler

This Practice Note discusses undocumented migrants claiming to be children, the general policy of the Home Office on assessing age, local authority age assessments and the procedure for challenging local authority age assessments.

This Practice Note provides a brief overview of support for families with children under the age of 18 who claim asylum, failed asylum seekers who have children under the age of 18, and unaccompanied asylum seeking children who reach the age of 18 while under the care of a local authority.

This Practice Note covers the local authority’s duties where a child (person under the age of 18) arrives in the UK alone. It covers the various duties following age assessment depending on the determination, including the duty to accommodate and transition at age 18.

This Practice Note discusses issues that a local authority (LA) should consider in its treatment of non asylum seeking families with no leave to remain and dependent children, including the LA’s duties towards a family of this type and the steps that an LA can take to avoid breaching the family’s rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.