Feature - Asylum: A place of safety?

Conflicts in the world's trouble spots can seem far away. But for professionals working with asylum-seeking children, the consequences are a daily reality.

In the year to September 2007, 885 unaccompanied children from Afghanistan applied for asylum in England, along with 150 from Iraq and 16 from Sudan. In total, about 3,000 young people arrive in the UK each year, putting massive pressure on the professionals who care for them.

In November, nine councils that provide services for young asylum seekers launched a campaign for the government to reimburse the £35m it costs them (CYP Now, 14-20 November 2007). Proposals published last week by the Home Office included plans to transfer young asylum seekers to specialist local authorities to reduce the strain on port-of-entry councils such as Kent and Hillingdon. But plans to X-ray young people to determine if they are under 18 have yet to be ruled out, despite pressure from medical experts.