Dear Mr Blair,

Freedom of Information Request - 11198 - Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

Further to your e mail of 8 February 2009, where you requested information on the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children reform programme, and our subsequent letter of 5 March 2009 - confirming an extension to our original deadline, I can confirm that I am now able to respond in full. Your request falls to be considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The target date for UKBA to respond to your request is 30 April 2009.

You asked for a list of authorities who have expressed an interest in becoming part of a specialist authority network under the terms of the UASC Reform Programme. We invited all authorities in England and Wales to attend a series of workshops in November 2008. Representatives of the following local authorities attended:-

You asked whether there were any minutes or notes of these meetings. There are none held - these were basically meetings where we presented the aims of the UASC Reform Programme to those interested in attending.

You asked whether we hold any discussion papers in relation to individual authorities becoming a “receiving authority” under the terms of the Programme. We do not hold copies of any documents relating to proposals for authorities to become receiving authorities under UASC Reform, other than a copy of the slide presentation used at the workshops that is attached.

Lastly, you sought a list of Local Government, Partnership or Consortia bodies who have expressed an interest in becoming a receiving authority. As we have not yet sought formal expressions of interest from authorities to become receiving (or more appropriately specialist) authorities under UASC Reform, no authorities have expressed this interest. It would be more appropriate to seek this information at a later stage - i.e. in six months time - when any authorities have expressed an interest. 

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the UK Border Agency sending a substantive reply to your original request and should be addressed to:

Head of Information Access Policy Team (Freedom of Information)

11^th floor - short corridor

Lunar House

40 Wellesley Road, Croydon

CR9 2BY

During the independent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

I am sorry I could not be of further help at the moment.

Yours sincerely

Jerry Harland

UASC Reform Programme