Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 22A: 22A: Before Clause 7, insert the following new Clause— ““Welfare for child immigrants Immigration Service: welfare of children After section 11(1)(m) of the Children Act 2004 (c. 31) (arrangements to safeguard and promote welfare) insert— ““(n) the Borders and Immigration Agency;””.”” The noble Baroness said: I return to some of the passionate topics that we have just been debating. This is an important amendment that would place on the Border and Immigration Agency a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. As the noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy of The Shaws, said in the debate on the previous amendment, no such duty exists. Having an obligation is necessary because of the uniquely difficult situation of asylum-seeker children, many of whom arrive unaccompanied. Their narrative is starkly different even to some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children that are taken into care. We must try to ensure as far as possible that not just their immigration status receives attention, but their welfare. A duty is needed to ensure, to guarantee, that they do not fall through the cracks and that their welfare and safety is promoted to the fullest possible extent. Section 11 of the Children Act 2000 excludes the immigration services from an otherwise comprehensive list of those to which a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children applies. In the debate on the UK Borders Bill, the Government argued that an amendment placing a duty on immigration services to promote child welfare would restrict the primary function of the Immigration Service; but this section of the Act would includes many other government agencies with other primary functions—such as the police. The amendment is simply designed to ensure that, alongside the normal functions of the Immigration Service, the promotion of child welfare is considered. The UK Borders Bill brought in a requirement for the Home Secretary to publish a code of practice, to which the Minister has already referred, on how the Border and Immigration Agency helps to keep children safe from harm and have regard to that code when carrying out its functions. However, this simply does not go far enough to safeguard the interests and welfare of the child. The code of practice was a welcome step in the right direction but I hope that your Lordships will agree that, if we are to take seriously the interests, welfare and safety of these children, we need to ensure that a statutory duty is placed on the immigration services to promote their welfare. I beg to move.