Separated Children in the UK
An overview of the UK's policy and practices of caring for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum [August 2001]
This report is an overview of the UK's policy and practices of caring for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. Many of them have fled unimaginably horrific situations and experienced or witnessed torture. Some have seen family members violently attacked or murdered. The main conclusion of the report is that access to services is a lottery for separated children and there is a general lack of co-ordination in the provision of services.
The report examines what happens to separated children once they have arrived in the UK: how they are treated by the immigration system, what sort of legal representation they receive, what welfare advice they can access, how they are looked after by social services, where they are accommodated and other issues.
Published in August 2001
