Age assessment practice guidance for Scotland

Footnotes

1 Convention on the Rights of the Child

2 Havard University research paper: Seeking Asylum Alone: Treatment of Separated and Trafficked Children in Need of Refugee Protection.

3 Unicef publication: A deadly journey for children: The Central Mediterranean Migration Route

4 Link to: Convention on the Rights of the Child

5 End of year (2018) National Referral Mechanism statistics.

6 Guidance on Referral to the Reporter – Information for Partners.

7 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Looked after children and young people guidance.

8 Bronstein, I. and Montgomery, P. (2011) ‘Psychological Distress in Refugee Children: A Systematic Review’ in Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review Volume 14, Number 1 (2011) pp. 44-56

9 E. Sanchez-Cao, E., Kramer, T., and Hodes, M. (2012) ‘Psychological distress and mental health service contact of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children’ in Child: Care, Health and Development

10 Bronstein, I., Montgomery, P., & Dobrowolski, S. (2012), ‘PTSD in Asylum-Seeking Male Adolescents From Afghanistan’, Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25(5), p551-557

11 Convention on the Rights of the Child

12 National Risk Framework to Support Assessment of Children and Young People

13 Convention on the Rights of the Child

14 Convention on the Rights of the Child

15 Convention on the Rights of the Child | OHCHR

16 Trauma – national trauma transformation programme | NHS Education

17 Hodes M, Jagdev D, Chandra N, Cunniff A. Risk and resilience for psychological distress amongst unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents. J Child Psych Psychiatry 2008, 49: 723-32

18 Health needs of unaccompanied asylum seeking children

19 Huemer J., karnik N., Steiner H. Unaccompanied refugee children lancet 2009 Feb. 21;373(9664): 612-614

20 Michelson D., Sclare I., Psychological needs, service utilisation and provision of care in a specialist mental health clinic for young refugees: a comparative study, Clin. Child Psychol psychiatry 2009 apr; 14 (2): 273-296

21 Mental health of displaced and refugee children resettled in high-income countries: risk and protective factors

22 See the Centre for the study of Emotion and Law for helpful summaries

23 Health needs assessment: Unaccompanied children seeking asylum

24 R(B) v Merton 2003 judgement

25 In light of the subsequent case of v Abdullah v Aberdeenshire Council [2024] CSOH 8, the court has confirmed that judicial review will not be a competent remedy, and an ordinary action for declarator is to be used.

26 But note the subsequent case of R. (on the application of SB) v Kensington and Chelsea RLBC | Westlaw UK [2023] EWCA Civ 924 which does not support this position in every case. It is stated that: “There is no rule of law that a young person must have an appropriate adult in an age assessment interview. In particular, [FZ] v Croydon is not a sound basis for any such supposed rule”