Oral QuestionHome Office

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Tabled: 22 May 2025Answered: 2 June 2025

Asked by

Jake Richards

LabourRother Valley

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for the Home Department

Answer from Hansard

Dame Angela Eagle

When people arrive and claim to be children, there are tests at the border to check whether we think they are children. If they are accepted as children, they are put into local authority care, so they should not be in asylum accommodation at all. If they are seen to be adults and end up in asylum accommodation, they can always make an appeal to the local authority that they are in and undergo what is known as a Merton age assessment test, which will decide on their age once and for all.