UK Borders Bill

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Judd, explained in some detail what happened following the publication of APU Notice 3/2007, which amends discretionary leave for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The child who, in the opinion of the officer, does not qualify for refugee status or humanitarian protection will normally be given discretionary leave for 12 months or to the age of 17½, whichever is the lesser. As the noble Lord explained, the effect is that the child has to submit an application for an extension of leave when he approaches the age of 17½ and, when that is refused, the substantive application for asylum is heard. That may happen months or even years after the original application, when, as the noble Lord also explained, memories of the events that gave rise to the asylum application will have faded and forensic evidence will be that much more difficult to collect. The effect of the child failing to lodge an application within the milestone of 17½ years of age would be that he would have no right of appeal at all. Although case owners are urged to see that legal representatives advise children to make an application—they will not get paid extra for that additional work—there may well be instances where, as the noble Lord said, the lawyers lose touch with the clients through the lapse of time. The general answer to maintaining better contact between UASC and their representatives may be found in the consultation document, Planning Better Outcomes and Support for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, which we talked about when debating the previous amendment. Under the system proposed there, some 40 to 50 specialist authorities in four regions outside London and the south-east would have responsibility for all UASC, with about 100 in each of the specialist authority areas. The authorities concerned would then be able to build up their services to cope with an even flow of UASC. As I said, contact would be better maintained and the expenditure of the local authorities in question could be planned over the medium term. Of course, the local authorities would have to be properly reimbursed for the costs that they would incur in setting up the system, and it would be useful to hear something about the discussions with the LGA on that subject. The power to apply residence conditions in Clause 16 would have to be used for this purpose, and I ask the Minister whether it is intended to direct the existing UASC into the areas of the specialist authorities or only to use the power with new arrivals once the arrangements are in place. It would be a far bigger job if the 6,000 UASC, the majority of whom are in London and the south-east, had to be moved to new homes in the specialist authority areas, if that is the intention. When it comes to the provision of legal services, the arguments are not quite so clear. In huge areas of the north, there are no specialist legal aid services available for asylum seekers, let alone for UASC, and the withdrawal of Browells, for example, means that there is a legal aid desert in the Newcastle area. So the market model is not likely to work, because providers who would offer services under legal aid will not spend huge sums of money training experts and attracting them into the areas of the proposed specialist authorities without a firm presumption of getting a contract. On the other hand, it would be irresponsible of the BIA to award a contract to a provider with no previous experience of this work. The Refugee Legal Centre and the IAS could no doubt fill the gap in theory, but even they would have to be advanced funded to get lawyers with the necessary expertise to migrate to Newcastle and other centres where there is no capacity at present. No doubt, one of the reasons why some two-thirds of UASC are in London and the south-east now is precisely because those are the only regions where they can get the best advice.