GMIAU report shows unaccompanied children suffering devastating delays in legal aid 

Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit ( GMIAU) report has revealed how devastating delays in the legal aid and asylum systems are leaving unaccompanied children in limbo for months and years.

The report is titled “We lost our lives when we arrived here”: Children in the UK’s asylum system. 

GMIAU shared its findings thus: 

“Our research has found devastating delays in the legal aid and asylum systems are leaving unaccompanied children in limbo for months and years.

What did we find in our report?

Faheem, a child we work with, told us how his expectations of life in the UK differed from reality. He didn’t find the safety and security we’d all want for a child fleeing violence. He’s been waiting 9 months for legal representation.

We used a wide range of evidence, including our own case data, displayed here. The Home Office’s own data shows a growing inability to make decisions. We also used information from our survey of legal practitioners and social workers, and from @LohstP’s research.

From interviews and discussions with children and young people in the asylum system we heard about the impact of months and years of delay on their mental health.

Children we work with have big dreams and talk about how much they want to pursue their education. But the level of delay they face puts that all at risk and the worry affects their ability to engage in class.

We heard from legal practitioners and social workers supporting young people, who told us how worried they were about children facing mental health crisis and exploitation.

👉What next?

The government is answering the crisis in the asylum system with more inflammatory scapegoating and lies about people seeking safety.

Our recommendations (more detail in the report) show how things could be different.

Our report highlights the Home Office’s reluctance to treat unaccompanied children as children and allow them their Children Act rights. Putting children in Home Office-run hotels is one symptom of this system-wide abuse.