Bedford Borough Council has raised concerns with the Home Office over the impact of referrals linked to people detained at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, whose age is unclear, councillors heard.
When it is unclear whether a detainee is under 18, they are treated as a child while further assessments are carried out.
These cases are referred to as “age-disputed young people”.
Harmesh Bhogal, the council’s executive director for children, education and families, told last night’s meeting of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Monday, 8 June) he had recently met with senior Home Office officials and made clear the impact the referrals were having on the authority.
Read: Yarl’s Wood age-dispute referrals place ‘significant pressure’ on Bedford children’s services
He said the council was providing more information and seeking additional support.
Yarl’s Wood is being used to hold some of the people arriving in the UK by small boats before they are returned to France as part of the UK-France returns pilot.
The committee heard that the “majority” of the age-disputed referrals the council received were people who claimed to be an adult but then gave a different age once in Yarl’s Wood.
Melanie Field, the council’s manager for corporate parenting, told the committee that the guidance is that if a young person is considered perhaps over 18, but not significantly over, “then the benefit of the doubt should be given”.
“We have to remember that their journey has been traumatic, and often those initial decisions are made at a point where people are the last part of that really traumatic journey,” she said.
She said that the council would normally expect to receive around one separated migrant child through the National Transfer Scheme during a cycle, but had received 20 referrals linked to the pilot.
Statutory responsibility
Ms Field said the council had a statutory responsibility to safeguard young people referred to it and, where necessary, provide accommodation, health assessments and other support while further assessments of their age were carried out.
She told the committee the additional demand had increased pressure on social work capacity and created extra costs for the authority.
“On average, we’re looking at about £950 per week per young person,” she said.
Ms Field said the council could reclaim some funding from the Home Office, but that it did not cover all of the costs associated with supporting young people who had been accommodated.
Councillor Hilde Hendrickx (Lib Dem, Riverfield) suggested the council should continue pressing the Home Office for additional resources and support, arguing that the policy was having consequences for local children’s services.
Beyond Detention
The meeting also heard concerns from Beyond Detention, a charity which supports people held at Yarl’s Wood.
Sam Price, the charity’s chief executive, said Beyond Detention had made referrals to Bedford Borough Council in 13 of the 19 cases referenced in a recent council briefing note.
Ms Price asked why children’s services had not engaged with the organisation despite what she described as “numerous offers of support”.
She told councillors: “I have personally experienced how heartbreaking it is to see these children week after week and not be able to give them any news at all because we simply do not know what is happening.”
Responding, Mr Bhogal said the council remained committed to working with organisations supporting young people affected by the issue.
He said the authority would offer Beyond Detention a weekly 30-minute meeting to discuss progress, subject to appropriate information-sharing arrangements.
Mr Bhogal also apologised if there had been delays in communication with the charity.
The report presented to the committee said it was “unclear” whether Yarl’s Wood facility is at capacity, but that due to the removal aspect of the treaty, there is likely to remain a ‘flow’ of people through the Centre.
It added that it is anticipated warmer weather will mean an increase in arrivals via small boats, and as such, the impact for Bedford Children’s Services is likely to continue.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
