Since 2015, Europe has seen unprecedented numbers of people fleeing conflict, instability and poverty arriving on its shores via the Mediterranean. The exact number of unaccompanied children in the EU is believed to be in the tens of thousands.
Although a much smaller percentage of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs) has arrived in the UK than other European countries, there has still been a substantial rise in claims for asylum during this period. In 2014/15, when the refugee crisis began to take hold, claims increased by more than 50 per cent on the previous year to 3,000. The latest annual Home Office statistics show a levelling off in UASC asylum applications, however figures for the first quarter of 2017 show numbers rising again.
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