Age assessment practice guidance for Scotland

3. Initial Presentation

This section aims to explore the different ways an asylum-seeking child or young person can present or be referred to a local authority. It assists social workers in determining whether a brief enquiry or full age assessment is required.

Key questions for practice:

• When to do a brief enquiry? Has one been carried out in another local authority?
• How can I ensure that a brief enquiry is compliant with Merton principles?
• What information do I have, either from the young person, or other agencies such as Home Office, police, another local authority?
• Are there immediate safeguarding concerns, regardless of their age?

How do unaccompanied asylum-seeking children present in Scotland?

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arrive in Scotland through various routes, one of which is the National Transfer Scheme (NTS). Under this scheme, children arrive in the UK, usually in Kent, and are then transferred to other local authorities across the UK who are then responsible for those children.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arrive in Scotland in many other ways; when they have not arrived through the NTS, they are often considered a “spontaneous arrival.” Local authorities may become aware of the presence in their area of a spontaneous arrival by a number of means, including the child themselves presenting to the local authority, or by the local authority being notified by another individual or agency such as a solicitor, police, adult asylum accommodation provider, or an organisation which supports asylum seekers.

Age assessments can be required regardless of whether the child has arrived through the NTS or spontaneously.

Arrivals through the NTS where age is not agreed

Local authorities will be allocated transfers of individuals via the NTS, including in circumstances where there is ongoing doubt as to whether the individual is an adult or child. In such cases, they are afforded the benefit of the doubt and treated as their claimed age for immigration purposes pending a further assessment. Local authorities must accept and care for them as a looked after child pending determination of their age following that assessment. In these circumstances, local authority staff may:

• Decide to accept the stated age and that an age assessment is unnecessary, having had time to observe and get to know the child in a more settled environment.
• Be unsure and decide to conduct a full age assessment.
• Refer to the Home Office’s decision-making function – the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB.) Please note that the Home Office may also make this referral. See section 2 for further detail on NAAB.

Spontaneous arrivals and brief enquiries

Local authorities must, in accordance with section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”), provide accommodation for any child, who is either residing or found in their area, who requires such provision because no one has parental responsibility for them. In practice, this means that regardless of how a child or young person has come to be in an area, the local authority must take steps to accommodate the child.

When determining the duty to provide accommodation, local authorities may have to make an assessment (referred to as a brief enquiry) on whether the young person is a child. It should be noted that a child is assumed to be the age they state unless/until proved otherwise and there may be circumstances when it is necessary to accommodate the child pending the brief enquiry. Local authorities are advised to contact the Home Office Age Dispute Team to determine if a previous assessment has been undertaken.

It might be that a person is or has been accommodated in another local authority immediately prior to presenting; in these cases, the responsibility should remain with the first local authority. However, there will be times when it is more complicated than this, and when the second local authority should make their own assessment of whether the person is a child and potentially provide accommodation for them. Some examples include but are not limited to:

1. Where the first local authority has conducted a brief enquiry and found that person to be an adult. In that situation the person is not the responsibility of the first authority as they were, at that time, deemed to be an adult. A brief enquiry in another local authority or a brief enquiry referred to as an ‘abbreviated Merton age assessment’ conducted by the National Age Assessment Board under Section 51 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 should not be solely relied upon, but their findings can be considered by the current local authority where that person is now presenting, although the latter is strongly advised to still make their own assessment of whether they could be a child.

2. The young person’s interests can affect which local authority is best placed to assume responsibility. There will be times when it is straightforward and appropriate to support a young person to return to the local authority area where they are or have been accommodated. However, there will also be times when this is not possible - and in these cases, the second local authority may be required to assume responsibility if they assess that the person could be a child.

Most importantly, there cannot be a situation where no local authority is responsible for providing a child with accommodation if a child fulfils one or more of the conditions set out in section 25(1) of the 1995 Act In these circumstances, it will be crucial for local authorities to communicate clearly and promptly with each other to ensure that the child is supported without undue delay.

In cases where more than one brief enquiry has been conducted, subsequent local authorities may wish to consider a full age assessment so that the focus is on the individual accessing the correct services and preventing the possibility of multiple brief enquiries being carried out. In cases where a full age assessment has been completed and it has been determined that the individual is an adult, the person should be advised on how to seek their own legal advice.

When to conduct a brief enquiry and possible outcomes

When a local authority is notified of a child presenting in their area, they should meet with the child without undue delay to assess their needs. There may be doubt over their age and so a brief enquiry may be required to determine whether the person is a child and requires provision of accommodation; the brief enquiry is not intended to be extensive or prolonged. It is a tool to ensure that those who are or could be children are provided with accommodation and cared for appropriately, whilst recognising that further assessment may be required. The three outcomes of a brief enquiry are outlined below:

Outcome 1: The person is clearly a child. There may be cases where it is clear that the person is a child and that the age stated is accepted. The child must be provided with accommodation without undue delay.

Outcome 2: The person could be a child. The assessing social worker(s) might be unsure if the person is a child and determine that the person could be a child but that this requires further assessment. In such cases, the young person should be provided with accommodation under section 25 of the 1995 Act. When accommodated, the stated age may be accepted and remove the need for further assessment but if any doubt remains regarding the person’s age, a full age assessment should be conducted.

“If a local authority has reasonable grounds to believe that someone may be a victim of human trafficking, and is unsure of the person’s age, but has reasonable grounds to believe they might be a child, then the local authority must assume the person is a child.In these circumstances, the provision of appropriate support by way of relevant children’s services must be provided pending a full age assessment. The local authority must ensure the child is safeguarded and then referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) process via the online referral form.

Outcome 3: The person is clearly and obviously an adult. The person is clearly and obviously an adult and, unless there is compelling evidence to the contrary, should be transferred from children’s to adult services through the Home Office Routing and Validation Team. The young person must be provided with a written copy of the decision letter which includes the reasons for the decision. This should be done as soon as possible to ensure the young person is able to access legal advice. This move can happen at pace and so consideration should be given to referrals to adult social work services or third sector services to support the young person. Please see scenario 5 at the end of this section for fuller list of actions.)

In cases where the two assessors disagree at the brief enquiry stage on any assessment, a full assessment is advised as the fairest process to the young person.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children should be referred to the Guardianship Scotland and this referral should be made by the local authority when a brief enquiry determines that they are or could be child. More information can be found in Appendix 9.

Conducting a fair brief enquiry

Section 5 of this guidance focuses on the requirements for a fair process in carrying out full age assessments, but it is important to note that a fair process must also be adhered to when carrying out brief enquiries whilst recognising, that in most cases, there is far less time to plan and respond to a call for a brief enquiry. In the English High Court judgment of R (HAM) v London Borough of Brent, the court ruled that all age assessments, whether brief or substantial, must be fair, with fairness depending on specific facts and circumstances of each individual case.

Local authorities often require interpreters at the brief enquiry stage, and to demonstrate fairness should also consider presence of a responsible adult. Urgency, geographical constraints and the physical location of the young person might mean that these services are not always available at the time of the brief enquiry and to wait for them might result in unnecessary delay or detriment to the young person. Even in cases where the visit is not immediate, it is recognised that some services, such as assistance from an interpreter, might only be available via video link or phone. It is strongly suggested that the rationale for the approach which has been adopted is documented, to demonstrate that local authority has considered the fairness of the process in relation to the young person.

See section 5 for more detailed guidance on interpreters, responsible adults, access to legal representation and considerations for an appropriate venue.

What should be included in a brief enquiry?

As outlined, a brief enquiry is not intended to be extensive or prolonged. The enquiry only requires sufficient information to determine whether someone could be a child; beyond that, the social worker (s) should be considering a full assessment at a later date if doubt remains.

It is reasonable during a brief enquiry that the social worker (s) will ask questions to understand:

• The age and date of birth of the young person. Questions about the calendar used or how the young person knows their age may be posed.
• Where the young person has travelled from, and their journey to and within the UK. This is not intended to be exhaustive questioning, or mapping out a timeline, rather this provides the opportunity for the child or young person to give an account and to identify signs of exploitation, abuse or harm. It may be that some further questions or clarification are needed.
• Whether the young person has or can access any identity documents.
• Whether the young person has any family members in the UK.

It is important to be aware that young people may look and act older than they are because of what they have experienced in their country of origin or on their journey to the UK. For this reason, in most cases appearance and demeanour should only be noted during a brief enquiry and should not be solely relied upon. However, in the English High Court judgment of AB v Kent County Council 2020, the court found that brief age assessments based on physical appearance and demeanour would only be permissible in obvious cases and that it is would be incumbent on the local authority to ensure that any such decision takes into account the margin of error. R(B) v Merton London Borough Council 2003 states that margin of error can be as much as 5 years either way.

How to ensure a consistent margin of error is factored into decision making is for each local authority to consider. Taking the 5 year margin of error into consideration is likely to result in accommodating someone who is thought to be over 18 but under 23. In such circumstances, where doubts about the young person’s age remain after they have been provided with accommodation and when the stated age is not accepted, a full age assessment is advised.

Information from other sources might also be considered prior to or during a brief enquiry. This might include other local authorities where the young person has resided, medical professionals, police and asylum accommodation staff. The Home Office Age Dispute Team should be contacted ahead of any enquiry and will provide information held on the individual which might, for example, include another age assessment or a picture on arrival. It should be noted that neither an initial decision based on physical and demeanour on arrival in the UK, nor a brief enquiry carried out by another local authority, should be solely relied upon and that the local authority is strongly advised to make their own assessment.

This guidance provides a template for brief enquiries in appendix 1.

“Minded to” discussion

During a brief enquiry, there might be inconsistencies in answers given by the child or young person or observations leading to doubt over age. These concerns should be shared with the young person, offering them the opportunity to provide a response. This is referred to as a “minded to” discussion.

It should be recognised that this discussion might be distressing for the young person and social work representatives should offer the young person time to consider what is being put to them before answering. This might require a break or even scheduling a further discussion depending on a number of factors including emotional state of the child or young person. Responses might lead to further questions or discussions which help to reach a final decision.

After a brief enquiry or accepting stated age without full assessment

After a brief enquiry which finds a young person to be clearly and obviously over the age of 18, it is best practice to ensure that the young person is given a copy of the assessment report and decision letter in writing with reasons. This should be done as soon as possible to ensure the young person is able to access their own legal advice.

There will be times when a young person has been provided with accommodation and a full age assessment is planned. During this period, it might be through observation and a period in a settled placement that social worker (s) believe that the young person is a child and that no age assessment is required.

Regardless of the decision, the Home Office must be informed in writing of the decision. Please see section 8 (sharing decision making) for more detail about how information should be shared with both the young person and with the Home Office.

At this stage, it might be useful to note that the Home Office should pay due deference to the local authority’s position but there may be cases where the stated age has been accepted without a full assessment, and the Home Office disagree with the local authority’s approach. The Home Office may request further information, or they might request a full age assessment by either the local authority or by NAAB.

Full age assessments should only be undertaken where absolutely necessary. The decision on whether it is necessary to undertake a full age assessment is a professional judgement, made by a qualified social worker. When making a decision about whether to carry out a full age assessment, social workers should be alert to unconscious bias (how our own experiences of family, society and culture etc. have shaped our views) and ensure that decision making is reasoned and robust. Preparing for and conducting a full age assessment is explored further in sections 5-7 of this guidance; this includes a section on bias.

Accommodation and hotels

Section 4 of this guidance expands on the provision of accommodation but this section considers the implications of an increase in the number of children presenting from adult asylum accommodation and what to do when it is not possible to move children out of hotel accommodation immediately.

Adult asylum hotels are not suitable for accommodating unaccompanied children, and local authorities must take all necessary steps to move individuals placed in adult accommodation and subsequently presenting as a child to more suitable accommodation without undue delay. Where a young person has to temporarily remain in hotel accommodation, appropriate mitigations must be taken by the local authority; these might include but are not limited to ensuring:

• That the child is not sharing a room, unless cultural or emotional reasons mean this may be most appropriate option.
• Regular contact with the child, both in person and through remote communication. Daily contact is advised and the child should be seen in person once weekly as a minimum.
• Regular contact with accommodation provider staff
• That hotel staff and child have access to children’s social work services and out of hours numbers.
• Access to healthcare services
• Regular reviews of the child’s plan in line with looked after child review processes
• Referral to the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) Service

Duty to reassess

In all age assessments – whether full or brief enquiries - if new information becomes available that could significantly change the outcome of the existing assessment, some form of further assessment should be undertaken. As an example, new information might include identity documentation or witness statements. Please see section 8 (managing new or revised information post assessment) for more detail about how to deal with new information which becomes available after a brief enquiry or full age assessment.

Scenarios

This section concludes with 5 practice based scenarios. The following should be done for scenarios 1-4:

• A local authority representative should visit the child or young person without undue delay.
• A referral to the Independent Child Trafficking Service. See appendix 9 for more information.
• The local authority should liaise with the Home Office Age Dispute Team to determine what information is held and whether an age assessment has been undertaken.

1. Presentation at police station in the middle of night

Police contact out of hours social work at 2 am to notify that child A has presented in a police station. Child A does not have any formal documents and speaks little English but has been able to communicate that he is 17 and seeking shelter and support. In this scenario, the following actions and considerations are recommended:

• Every effort should be made to see child A in person but the time and location of the visit might make it inappropriate and impracticable for an initial assessment of need and a brief enquiry to be conducted immediately. In these circumstances, efforts should be made to speak to child A and to establish as much information from police as possible.
• In this situation, the stated age should be accepted until such time that a brief enquiry can be carried out. This means that the local authority has a duty to provide accommodation for the young person under section 25 of the 1995 Act.
• The priority must be ensuring that child A is safely accommodated pending any further assessment.
• A visit allows the local authority to consider the needs of child A when sourcing accommodation. In exceptional cases where child A cannot be visited, due consideration must be given to the appropriate placement of child A. Interim accommodation options pending a suitable care placement must be reserved for emergency situations where no alternative safe option is available, and utilised for the shortest period possible. Appropriate mitigations must be put in place in this scenario.

2. Referral of a child in an adult asylum accommodation

You are notified that an individual placed by Home Office in an adult asylum hotel, or other another adult accommodation, has advised that they are a child. Child B has been in the hotel for a number of months and has come forward with documentation which shows them to be a child. The Home Office has recorded their age as 24. In this scenario, the following actions and considerations are recommended:

• The local authority should liaise with the Home Office to understand what information exists about child B. Where concerns about Child B’s behaviour or welfare have been raised, a visit to child B should be prioritised over information gathering.
• Where the determination is that child B could be a child, they should be provided with accommodation subject to section 25 of the 1995 Act. Any doubts about whether child B is a child should be managed through a full age assessment, conducted after they have been provided with accommodation.
• In exceptional circumstances where it is not possible to move child B from the adult asylum accommodation immediately; child B should only remain there for the minimum time necessary with mitigations in place to ensure that it is the safest option. Until such point as they are moved to a regulated or more appropriate care placement, this must include daily contact and regular visits, additional management overview, and the child should be subject to the usual regular review of children in care.
• Where the child remains in the hotel at the time of the statutory 72 hour review, the review should focus on urgent plans for them to move to a more appropriate care placement.
• If the brief enquiry concludes that child B is clearly and obviously an adult, a minded to discussion must be considered. If the decision is unchanged by this discussion, the outcome must be given in writing with reasons and detail of right to appeal.

3. Spontaneous arrival who has resided in another local authority area

Child C has presented in your local authority area and it is believed that they have previously resided in two other local authority areas. In this scenario, the following actions and considerations are recommended:

• Gather information to inform your assessment of need and care plan. This should include seeking information from the previous local authorities which may indicate that:
  • Child C is already accommodated by another local authority, in which case discussions should be held about how best to return the child to their care as the responsible authority. Consideration should always be given to any safeguarding concerns or;
  • Child C presented to the previous authority, was accommodated but a brief enquiry deemed them to be an adult. In this situation, your authority is responsible and must undertake an age assessment to determine if child C is or could be a child – in either of these cases, accommodation should be provided in the interim. Any doubt about child C being a child should be managed through a full age assessment after they have been provided with accommodation.
• It is important to note that both the previous local authority/authorities and the Home Office should share any appropriate information with your authority but previous brief enquiries should not be solely relied upon and you are strongly advised to make your own assessment of whether child C could be a child.
• Where one or more previous brief enquiries have found child C to be an adult, the best course of action may be to accommodate and undertake a full age assessment.

4. Identifying a child who may have been exploited

Child D has arrived as an age disputed arrival through the NTS and colleagues have raised concerns about signs of exploitation.

Being aware of the indicators and risks that may suggest children and young people are being exploited is the initial step. The Human Trafficking: Reading the Signs factsheet provides good information on indicators and advice for professionals.

In this scenario, the following actions and considerations are recommended:

• Under section 12 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person may be a child who is, or may be, a victim of the offence of human trafficking, they ought to be presumed to be a child until further enquiries are made.
• Ensuring that the child is safely accommodated is a priority.
• Where concerns exist that the young person has been trafficked, this is a child protection matter and the child’s safety will have priority over any age assessment.
• The young person’s need for care and protection may therefore impact on the timescale of any subsequent age assessment.
• An inter-agency referral discussion (IRD) should be held, as outlined in Part 3 of the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 (updated 2023). A decision not to conduct an IRD must be recorded in writing.
• There may be information collected in the process of the IRD which may be relevant to determining the issue of age.
• A decision on whether to submit a referral to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) will be made during the IRD if it has not already been completed. The Police and Social Work services will agree between them which agency will be responsible for submitting the referral.
• Social workers should remain alert to the impact of trafficking and any continuing threat on the young person's ability to participate in the assessment.

5. How to support transition into adult asylum services after age assessment

A brief enquiry determines that person E could be a child and they are moved into local authority accommodation pending a full age assessment. The subsequent full age assessment concludes that person E is an adult. In this scenario, the following actions and considerations are recommended:

• Notify the Home Office of outcome and refer to Home Office Routing and Validation Team, who will support with sourcing adult accommodation.
• Communicate any vulnerabilities or special needs, including trafficking indicators, to the Home Office safeguarding team and consider what safeguards or mitigations might support the young person such as a request for a single room.
• It is likely that the young person will be upset and distressed and so ensure support is available at the meeting and after. The guardian can continue providing support for up to 3 months after the outcome of an age assessment if the decision finds the young person is an adult and can ensure that the young person is linked into responsible adult services, community groups and to seek legal advice.
• A move to adult accommodation will often be arranged within 24 hours of notifying adult asylum services. The move to adult accommodation will be unsettling and stressful for the young person and might involve moving out of the local authority area where they are residing. To help prepare the young person for this move, the local authority might consider:
• Providing a package of practical support for the young person such as toiletries and basic essentials.
• Gathering views of the young person and where possible, advocating, on their behalf, that they are placed in the same local authority and if not, Scotland. This will ensure that they can continue to access legal services in Scotland which might be removed if they move elsewhere. Remaining in the area where they have support networks and access to services may provide additional protective factors, mitigating any risk of future exploitation or isolation.
• Consider the individual circumstances of the young person and the timescales of the move.
• Pre-empt the move, in so far as is possible, to help put plans in place to allow a smooth transition to adult services in order to minimise further trauma and disruption for the young person and to allow for alternative supports to be put in place. This will include managing their expectations.
• Consider asking professionals, including but not limited to those in medical, mental health or education roles, to provide letters of support which may offer additional evidence to support the young person’s health needs, vulnerabilities and any special support needs already be in place in the residing Local Authority area.