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I would like information on the age assessments on Asylum Seekers carried out by Liverpool Social Services on Asylum Seekers

Ewan Roberts made this Freedom of Information request to Liverpool City Council

The request was successful.

From: Ewan Roberts

13 March 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like information relating to age assessments carried out by
Liverpool Social Services on Asylum Seekers.

Specifically I would like to know:

The number of age assessments,
The number of assessments where the asylum seeker is assessed as
being younger than claimed,
The number which remain the same,
The number which assess the persons age as older than they claim.

I would also like to know the general basis for and background on
which these assessments are made, ie what studies/guidance is used
during the assessment process

I would like the time period to cover from the start of the
dispersal programme in 2000 to the present day. If this proves too
difficult, data from the last 3 years would be acceptable.

Yours faithfully,

Ewan Roberts

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Cassidy, J left an annotation (14 March 2009)

It might be worth explicitly asking for the information to be sent to you in electronic format via your @whatdotheyknow.com email address, if you wish for the information requested to be accessible online to one an all.

I have started to use a standard paragraph to requests such as:

"Please provide the requested information, via email in electronic format, to my @whatdotheyknow.com address, in the original MS Word or plain text format if available, or alternatively in PDF format, only if MS Word or plain text formats are not available. If you
only have paper (hard copy) copies please provide a Digital Photo Copier Scanned version in PDF format. This will help ensure the information is accessible for use with a Screen Reader or Magnifier. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_reader>"
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ua...

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From: Ewan Roberts

24 April 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

4 weeks ago I placed a request for information about age
assessments relating to unaccompanied minors with you. I have heard
nothing to date and this is now longer than legislation requires
for your response. I look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Yours sincerely,

Ewan Roberts

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From: Symm, Kevin
Liverpool City Council

14 May 2009


Attachment 55154 Roberts response 140509.doc
483K Download View as HTML


Please find attached response.

Regards,

Kevin Symm

Senior Information Officer

Legal Services

Liverpool City Council

Municipal Buildings

Dale Street

Liverpool

L2 2DH

TEL: 0151 225 3007

[1][email address]

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Cassidy, J left an annotation (13 April 2010)

Related info:

"Liverpool Council has agreed to pay
Miss T £5,000 in recognition of this
injustice and to review a sample of
10 per cent of its age assessments
of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children."

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Liverpool Council mishandled age assessment for child asylum seeker

Full text report can be downloaded via:
* Report 08 005 858 Liverpool City C (963KB)
http://www.lgo.org.uk/GetAsset.aspx?id=f...

Date Published: 01/04/10

Liverpool City Council failed to follow long-established guidance when social workers who had no specific training assessed the age of an unaccompanied asylum-seeking girl.

Liverpool City Council failed to follow long-established guidance when social workers who had no specific training assessed the age of an unaccompanied asylum-seeking girl, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Anne Seex. In her report, issued today (1 April 2010) she says: “As a consequence of being assessed as an adult … a child of 15 suffered the injustice of being denied for more than 15 months the local authority care and support that she needed.”

‘Miss T’ (real names are not given for legal reasons) is a citizen of the Cameroon. She arrived in Liverpool and claimed asylum as a child. The Home Office asked the Council to assess her for age. The Council’s age assessment of Miss T omitted important aspects and then failed to give adequate reasons for its decision that she was over 18 and so not entitled to support and services as a child in need.

A later, properly-conducted assessment by a different council assessed Miss T as being 16. This assessment was proven to be accurate by official papers subsequently obtained from her country of origin. By this time she had been without care services for over 15 months, was pregnant and receiving therapy for sexual abuse and having been subjected to witchcraft practices.

The Ombudsman found faults in the way that the Council conducted the assessment:

* Miss T’s ethnicity, culture and customs were not a key focus;
* the assessors did not consider whether a medical opinion might have been helpful when Miss T claimed to be under 15 and the assessors thought she could be as old as 23;
* no consideration was given to whether other professional input was needed;
* apparent inconsistencies in Miss T’s story appear to have influenced the judgement without her having the opportunity to clarify matters; and
* the assessors speculated about matters but did not ask Miss T for further information.

Miss T suffered the injustice of:

* loss of care services that she needed and was entitled to receive; and
* stress and uncertainly while she was a child in making appeals against decisions to deport her.

The Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice and is pleased that, in accordance with her recommendations, the Council has agreed to pay Miss T £5,000 in recognition of this injustice and to review a sample of 10 per cent of its age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Report ref no 08 005 85
http://www.lgo.org.uk/news/2010/apr/live...
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