My Lords, I support Amendment 55, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Lister of Burtersett, supported by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford and the noble Baronesses, Lady Neuberger and Lady Brinton. I also support Amendments 78 and 79, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, supported by the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss. These amendments relate to children who arrive in the UK alone, unaccompanied by any adult.
Lone children have no one. They are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and their welfare and best interests should be safeguarded. I am glad to see that it is not the intention of the Government of this country or of the Government of the Republic of Rwanda for this scheme to cover unaccompanied children. Article 3 of the Rwanda treaty is clear, stating:
“The Agreement does not cover unaccompanied children”.
Therefore, on my reading, this amendment helps safeguard that intention while upholding the best interests of such children.
If the agreement with Rwanda does not cover unaccompanied children, it seems to me common sense that the United Kingdom should make sure that it is not sending unaccompanied children to Rwanda. The constitutionally proper way for us to be sure of that is after an assessment that an individual is an adult, to allow our courts and tribunals to have an opportunity to fully consider whether an individual is an unaccompanied child, as they claim to be, before the individual is removed.
The safeguard this amendment seeks to maintain and restore is nothing more than due process. I am certain that your Lordships’ House does not wish to see children forcibly sent to Rwanda on the mistaken belief that they are adults, or to allow them to be wrongly treated as adults in Rwanda, potentially placed in accommodation that is unsafe and unsuitable for them, only to have our courts subsequently confirm they are children and order that they be brought back to the UK.
It appears to me that the Government are conscious that mistakes may happen, because Article 3 of the Rwanda treaty also states:
“Any unaccompanied individual who, subsequent to relocation, is deemed by a court or tribunal in the United Kingdom to either be under the age of 18 or to be treated temporarily as being under the age of 18, shall be returned to the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 11 of this Agreement”.
That is a wholly unsatisfactory state of affairs, and it is not in the best interests of the children concerned.
That is not only my view but the view of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which stated last year that Section 57 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 was
“clearly not in the best interests of any child and is likely to breach the child’s rights under Articles 6, 8, and 13 of the ECHR”.
Those rights are to a fair trial, to respect for private and family life and to an effective remedy.
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While the debate on Section 57 last year related to age assessments for removal to a vast range of countries under the Illegal Migration Act, your Lordships’ House is now considering removal to Rwanda under the conditions to be put in place by this Bill. Amendment 55 would disapply Section 57 in relation to this Bill only and Amendments 78 and 79 would remove unaccompanied children from the remit of this Bill altogether. All three go to the heart of the matter. Surely, flights returning traumatised children to the UK from Rwanda are not an image that the UK Government, the Rwandan Government or the public wish to see. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence to suggest that we would see such images if this Bill were to pass unamended and come into effect.
Unaccompanied children are often incorrectly assessed by the Home Office as being adults on their arrival in the UK and treated as over the age of 18, only to be determined to be children after further assessment. As other noble Lords have mentioned, even though two officers must separately determine that an individual’s
“physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggests that they are significantly over 18 years of age”,
mistakes can happen, and they have. As the noble Baroness, Lady Neuberger, said, evidence from local authorities’ children’s services have revealed that, in the first six months of 2023 alone, 485 children were sent to adult accommodation or detention by the Home Office. These 485 children would have been sent to Rwanda, in error, under this Bill.
I worry that, without a lawyer or support from child protection professionals, when mistakes happen, children may never access justice and be returned to the UK. For these common-sense and humane reasons, I support this amendment, which seeks to remove the possibility that unaccompanied children are sent to Rwanda under this Bill, contrary to their best interests and without being able to access due process on our soil.