My Lords, I rise to support Amendment 151, which is in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Green of Deddington, and speak to
my Amendment 151A. I think it is fair to say that I have been utterly appalled by the number of asylum seekers pretending to be children—more than 1,100 migrants in the 12 months to September 2021, according to Migration Watch. I understand that this represents a big rise in this fraud, with 66% of concluded decisions in the year to September 2021 being persons who are 18 or over. This is despite the fact that many arrivals arrive without documents. The number will of course grow as the numbers across the channel in boats grow—assuming we can get at those numbers.
There are also substantial incentives for adult asylum seekers to be treated as children, such as the granting of housing and wider support. However, it is the wider implications that are worrying me. Mature boys put alongside vulnerable girls in schools can wreck their progress and even lead to abuse. Mixed ages in social care are a recipe for disaster. And it can be worse than that: the Parsons Green bomber pretended to be 16 when he was much older.
The noble Lord, Lord Green, tabled his amendment because he believes that the system for checking the age of asylum claimants is so loose that it gives the benefit of the doubt to those saying, without proof, that they are minors. So I think there is some agreement that there is a problem here. But all of that is a long way of saying that we must have an extremely rigorous system of age assessment, and I look forward to hearing from my noble friend how this will be achieved in practice. I particularly support new subsection (3) proposed by Amendment 151 which, if adopted, would prevent those of undetermined age being placed alongside minors in schools or accommodation, because this is at the heart of my concern.
From listening to today’s debate, it is obvious that this is an area of widespread concern—and for different reasons, depending on your perspective. I therefore tabled Amendment 151A, which would require a review of the age assessment provisions after two years to ensure that they are effective in providing a robust system of age verification. A report will be made to Parliament so that we can all assess progress. I hope that this simple idea will find favour with the House.