The Joint Political Declaration on Asylum and Returns between the UK and the EU agreed on 24 December 2020 noted the UK’s intention to engage in bilateral discussions with the most concerned Member States to discuss suitable practical arrangements on asylum and illegal migration, in accordance with the UK’s and EU’s respective laws and regulations.

The Government has not yet concluded any new bilateral agreements to facilitate the return of asylum-seekers from the UK to third countries. We are currently in discussions with several Member States but we will not provide a running commentary on the progress of specific negotiations.

Throughout the transition period, we will continue to honour our commitments under the Dublin III Regulation, including the transfers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK who have qualifying family members in the UK where it is in their best interests. We continue to remain in close contact with sending states, to facilitate transfers as quickly and safely as possible in accordance with respective governments’ decisions on Covid-19 and the Dublin Regulation.

Furthermore, we will continue to process all Take Charge Requests made under the family reunion provisions of the Regulation which are received on or before the 31 December 2020.

The UK has presented a genuine and sincere offer to the EU for a new, reciprocal arrangement for the family reunion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children post-transition, and on 19 May published its draft legal text as a constructive contribution to negotiations.

The Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations.

The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.

Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitment

The Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations.

The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.

Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitment

The Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations.

The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.

Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitment

The Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations.

The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.

Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitment

We have allocated a £3.6 million Dublin development fund, as part of the Sandhurst Treaty signed between the UK and France in January 2018, to identify projects to support eligible claims through the asylum process and ensure those who are ineligible for transfer to the UK are informed of their options. We are in the process of transferring these funds and will continue to work with the French Government to implement this work. We will update Parliament as and when we have relevant information to share.

As of June 2018, a total of 12,851 people had been resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) since it began across 288 local authorities. The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The statistics are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release. We are confident that the VPRS is on track to deliver the commitment. More refugees are arriving every month and the figure for resettlement continues to rise.

On 30 November 2017, the Government published data on the numbers of children transferred to the UK from the Calais camp clearance. The data can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfers-of-children-to-the-uk-from-the-calais-operation-november-2017

On 22 February 2018, the Home Office published data on the number of transfers into the UK from other Dublin states. The relevant statistics can be found at as_22_q, asylum volume 5 at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2017-data-tables. 2018 Dublin data will be published in February

Under the Children Act 1989, and relevant legislation in the devolved nations, local authorities have a responsibility to look after children in need in their jurisdiction. In accordance with section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016, we consulted with local authorities on their capacity to care for unaccompanied children before announcing the specified number of 480. This is in addition to the over 4,500 unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), already in local authority care in the UK. In light of this statutory duty, we have no plans to extend caring responsibilities for unaccompanied asylum seeking children in this way.

A scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a resettled refugee family was launched by the then Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace on 19 July 2016. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ webpage has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.

The UK is committed to close cooperation and collaboration with EU partners, including France, to ensure the efficient and timely operation of the Dublin Regulation and national relocation schemes, namely to relocate and support unaccompanied children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

As part of the Sandhurst Treaty, signed between the UK and France on 18 January 2018, both parties agreed to further enhance cooperation in a number of areas, including migration. In respect of transferring the asylum claim of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under Article 8(1) and Article 8(2) of the Dublin Regulation, we have committed to provide a decision on to France within 10 working days of the conclusion of engagement with the relevant UK local authority; and, if applicable, France will aim to transfer the child to the UK within 15 working days.

In addition, we announced the allocation of a £3.6M development fund, as part of the UK’s overall £45.5M funding commitment, which the UK intends to use to work with France to identify projects which support genuine claims through the Dublin process and ensure that those with no prospect of transferring to the UK are informed of their options.

The UK is fully committed to transferring the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 as soon as possible. Over 220 children are already here and transfers are ongoing. After extensive discussion with France, Greece and Italy, we have agreed to amend the eligibility date on an exceptional basis to ensure we can transfer the circa. 260 remaining unaccompanied children and meet our obligation under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. The Government had previously insisted on the previous eligibility date of 20 March 2016 to avoid establishing an open-ended relocation scheme from Europe, as this would increase the pull factor that puts children’s lives at risk.

In addition, we will deploy a UK Liaison Officer to France by 1 April 2018 to facilitate cooperation on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

The UK is committed to close cooperation and collaboration with EU partners, including France, to ensure the efficient and timely operation of the Dublin Regulation and national relocation schemes, namely to relocate and support unaccompanied children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

As part of the Sandhurst Treaty, signed between the UK and France on 18 January 2018, both parties agreed to further enhance cooperation in a number of areas, including migration. In respect of transferring the asylum claim of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under Article 8(1) and Article 8(2) of the Dublin Regulation, we have committed to provide a decision on to France within 10 working days of the conclusion of engagement with the relevant UK local authority; and, if applicable, France will aim to transfer the child to the UK within 15 working days.

In addition, we announced the allocation of a £3.6M development fund, as part of the UK’s overall £45.5M funding commitment, which the UK intends to use to work with France to identify projects which support genuine claims through the Dublin process and ensure that those with no prospect of transferring to the UK are informed of their options.

The UK is fully committed to transferring the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 as soon as possible. Over 220 children are already here and transfers are ongoing. After extensive discussion with France, Greece and Italy, we have agreed to amend the eligibility date on an exceptional basis to ensure we can transfer the circa. 260 remaining unaccompanied children and meet our obligation under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. The Government had previously insisted on the previous eligibility date of 20 March 2016 to avoid establishing an open-ended relocation scheme from Europe, as this would increase the pull factor that puts children’s lives at risk.

In addition, we will deploy a UK Liaison Officer to France by 1 April 2018 to facilitate cooperation on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Over 200 unaccompanied children have arrived in the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and transfers are ongoing.

The Government is fully committed to delivering our commitment to transfer the specified number of 480 children under section 67. We are working very closely with Member States, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGO partners to identify and transfer children to the UK in line with each individual Member State’s national laws.