News and Updates

For the latest news stories on migration, please visit the news section of our website. For the stories relating specifically to UASC from the last 6 months, please see below.

10 August 2026 

• In case you missed this item on young people, the Upper Tribunal rejected the Home Office’s claim that age assessments conducted by their in-house National Age Assessment Board on young people seeking asylum should be given ‘special weight’ over those carried out by local authority social workers. (Source: Free Movement) 

03 August 2026

• On children and young people, charities continue to raise concerns that the UK’s proposed use of AI facial age-assessment technology could wrongly classify asylum seeking children as adults, exposing them to the risk of detention and removal. Meanwhile, in this article, a social worker reflects on how the asylum system's control over unaccompanied asylum-seeking children's time, through various assessments, appointments and delays, can compound feelings of powerlessness in young people. (Sources: the Guardian, Community Care)  

20 July 2026

• The Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTG) service for child victims of modern slavery (including unaccompanied asylum seeking children) will be expanded to cover all councils in England and Wales. It began as a pilot over 10 years ago to provide independent advocacy and support. The service is delivered by Barnardo’s and funded by the Home Office. (Source: Barnardo’s)

13 July 2026

• A person seeking asylum who benefited from the ‘one-in, one out’ deal with France by arriving in the UK, says he does not support the scheme, describing it as unfair on those who are deported. More on the deal, safeguarding concerns were raised over treatment of unaccompanied children, with cases of children being misidentified as adults, leading to detention and potential removal from the UK before their age and vulnerability were properly assessed.(Sources: the Guardian, Oxford Law Blogs University of Oxford)  

29 June 2026

• The Children's Commissioner for England has criticised government proposals to cut support for families and care leavers with a refused asylum application and to implement the use of force on children during removals. The Commissioner argues the plans breach the Children Act 1989 and urges the Home Office to ensure children are not left without support or put at risk during the asylum process. (Source: Children's Commissioner)

22 June 2026

• New guidance for those working with age disputed people in Home Office asylum accommodation includes the Standard Operating Procedure which details the information-sharing process to be followed when a person’s age is disputed. (Source: Home Office) 
• An investigation has raised concerns regarding Facial Age Estimation AI technology that the Home Office plans to roll out to estimate the age of young people seeking asylum. It claims data shows high margins of error for young people aged 16 to 18, teenage girls, and racial bias. This article says government was aware of similar concerns a year ago in a civil service report. (Sources: Lighthouse Reports, Independent) 

15 June 2026

• Proposed Home Office changes to asylum return arrangements have prompted concerns from the Association of Directors of Children’s Services about the potential impact on local authorities supporting young people. (Source: Children and Young People Now) 
• ‘Ny Name is Samim’, an award-winning novel drew inspiration from the experiences of a teenage refugee in Scotland. (Source: The Scotsman) 

08 June 2026

• Refugee children’s charities said Home Office plans to use AI to assess the age of young people seeking asylum should only be used in an advisory way rather than to make a determination. They fear it could result in more children in adult prisons or detention centres. (Source: the Guardian) 
• Freedom of information requests show lone children were held at UK-run short term detention centres in France on nearly 300 occasions in 2025. Conditions were described as ‘poor’ during inspections. (Source: the Guardian) 

01 June 2026

• On young people, in light of national news about young people not in education, work or training (NEET), a centre-right think tank is blaming this trend on employers hiring young non-EU migrants rather than young Brits over recent years. (Source: Centre for Social Justice). 
• Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over the way young people that seek asylum are being age-assessed in the UK, after new data showed immigration officers are more likely than social workers to class them as adults. (Source: the Guardian)

25 May 2026

• The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) urged social workers to oppose the changes to support for children and families without secure immigration status outlined in the government's Family Returns Consultation and encouraged social workers to submit a response. (Source: BASW)
• The same professional body also warned against the government's proposed changes which would see all age assessments completed by the National Age Assessment Board as binding on local authorities. (Source: BASW)
• The British Red Cross spoke out against the government's ongoing suspension of refugee family reunion, highlighting that up to 1,360 children could remain separated from their family for every month the suspension remains in place. (Source: the Guardian)

18 May 2026

• New research suggests that for young people who arrived in the UK alone to seek asylum, in order to thrive support services should focus not only on trauma. Meanwhile, the ECPAT Young Advisory Group has issued a response to the government’s proposed reforms to the asylum and immigration system as outlined in the King’s Speech. (Sources: Social Care Today, ECPAT UK)  

27 April 2026

• A research project has concluded that the Afghan resettlement schemes have saved thousands of lives and that while some people are still finding life in the UK difficult, young people especially are adapting well to their new environments. However, some families who have been approved for relocation to the UK are taking legal action over an apparent ‘freeze’ on relocations currently. (Sources: UCL, Independent)

20 April 2026

• This article explores how changes to the immigration and asylum system could make life more uncertain for children. (Source: Children and Young people Now)