This was originally posted on Becoming Adult blog.
The Immigration Bill is continuing to roll through UK Parliament. On Tuesday 12th April the House of Lords gave the Bill its third and final reading, ready to send back to the House of Commons [1]. Amendments to the Bill will be considered by the House of Commons before Royal Assent [2].
At the same time, the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee continues to hear evidence for its inquiry into ‘unaccompanied minors’ in the EU [3]. Oral expert evidence was heard on 13th April and written evidence was published yesterday, 18th April [4]
Tomorrow, 20th April 2016, selected Government Ministers will give evidence regarding their actions to support separated children in the UK. This can be watched from 10:30am here.
They will address:
- The number of unaccompanied minors the UK, and how they differ in terms of age, gender and nationality
- Whether England should adopt a guardianship scheme for unaccompanied minors
- How proposed legal changes under the Immigration Bill will affect unaccompanied minors
- Family reunification for unaccompanied minors in the UK
- The challenges facing unaccompanied minors throughout the UK and other EU Member States
- Individuals and organisations that the Children’s Commissioner cooperates with in order to provide advice and assistance to unaccompanied minors and the effectiveness of this
[1] http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/immigration/stages.html
[2] See the Immigration Bill stages here: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/immigration.html)
[3] http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/eu-home-affairs-subcommittee/inquiries/parliament-2015/unaccompanied-minors-in-the-eu/
[4] All documents can be found here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/eu-home-affairs-subcommittee/inquiries/parliament-2015/unaccompanied-minors-in-the-eu/unaccompanied-minors-in-the-eu-publications/
Rachel Humphris 