At GMIAU, we provide advice and representation to young people who have had their ages disputed either by the Home Office or local authorities. These young people are on their own in the UK, seeking asylum. Some are referred to us whilst still in local authority care, some have been dispersed into adult accommodation, some have been left street homeless and destitute or detained in immigration removal centres. All are confused about why they have had their ages disbelieved.
Young people from our All4One youth group have found it reassuring to be able to talk to others who have gone through the age assessment process. It is wonderful to see young people helping other young people. But we realised not everyone has access to such support, particularly those who have been dispersed into adult accommodation without spending any time in local authority care and who are therefore less likely to come into contact with other young people.
There began the idea of supporting young people to put together their own resource for other young people who might not find support elsewhere.
With help from staff at GMIAU and the pro bono support of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, nine young people from the All4One group put together this guide which was launched in September 2020.
The young people involved were also very keen for the adults and various professionals involved in the age assessment process to understand what it is like for them, how it makes them feel to be disbelieved and, if an age assessment has to happen, how it can be done better. This led to the development of three information sheets with the #SixThings young people want social workers, appropriate adults and interpreters to know about the age assessment process.
Above all, young people wanted the adults involved to understand just how important their role is as well as how significant (and upsetting) it is for young people to have their ages disbelieved.
Young people from our All4One youth group speak about their experiences of the age assessment process in these voice recordings.
Halima, a foster carer, Burhan, an interpreter, Vijay, a barrister, Maria, a social worker at GMIAU and Kathleen, who has acted as an appropriate adult, share their perspectives on the age assessment process.
Some of the young people who contact us have been age assessed as an adult and dispersed in adult asylum accommodation in the North West. When we support them in challenging the decision on their age we are often faced with a conflict as to which local authority is most appropriate to do the re-assessment – the original local authority or the local authority where they now live.
Struck by the ambiguity over what happens in these circumstances, and the absence of young people’s voices in decision-making, in 2019 we used funding from the Strategic Legal Fund to carry out research on the position in guidance, case law and practice. We are now exploring policy, strategic litigation and best practice tools to push for clarity.
Rebecca Tooth is a Progression Coach at Statham House, a supported accommodation service for looked after children by the charity DePaul. Here she talks about her work at Statham House supporting young people who have…
Laura Gibbons, GMIAU’s Public Law Solicitor, explains the process of creating the four Young People’s Guides To Age Assessments with the All4One Youth Group.
On the 9th of September, we’re having an online launch. We’ll be publishing our four new guides to the Age Assessment process You can find more details about those materials below, which will be available…
Roxanne Nanton is an Age Dispute Advisor at the Refugee Council. Here she talks about her work supporting young people who have their ages disputed and acting as Appropriate Adult in age assessments.
Arman* was age disputed upon arrival to the UK from Iran. He was helped by a solicitor and his age was accepted. He has been granted refugee status and has moved on to independent living…
In this guest blog, practitioners at The Children’s Society describe their experiences supporting young people through the age assessments process, and how our guide will be useful. Unaccompanied young people come to the UK seeking…
These are the words of Hiwa*, a young person GMIAU supported, who came to the UK from Iran. He was detained following his age being disputed. A solicitor helped to secure his release from detention,…
