Children’s Commissioner warns Home Office asylum crackdown breaches welfare laws

Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has issued a formal rebuke to the Home Office, warning that proposed crackdowns on refused asylum seekers would cause significant harm to children. In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, de Souza argued that the consultation’s plans to cut support for families and permit physical interventions on minors may breach the Children Act 1989, which mandates that a child’s best interests remain central to public authority decisions.

The proposals, currently under consultation following Mahmood’s March address on migration control, seek to reduce accommodation and financial support for families with refused asylum applications. The Home Office has suggested offering financial incentives of up to £10,000 per person, capped at four individuals, to encourage refused asylum seekers to leave the UK. De Souza stated that as currently drafted, these measures would put children at risk of harm and fail to meet statutory duties to protect their rights.

A central point of contention is the proposal to remove ongoing medical treatment as a barrier to deportation. Under the new framework, the unavailability of care in a refused asylum seeker’s homeland would no longer be considered a genuine obstacle to removal. De Souza’s submission described this shift as contrary to the best interests of children, urging the government to reverse the policy to prevent sick children from being deported to countries where they cannot receive necessary treatment.

The consultation also proposes altering current regulations that prohibit immigration and detainee custody officers from using physical interventions on children. The new rules would permit such measures, including the use of handcuffs, against accompanied children who do not comply with requirements to leave the UK. De Souza insisted that any force used against a child must be an absolute last resort, conducted only to protect them or others from harm, and executed with the utmost gravity by trained professionals.

Estimating that up to 27,000 children could be affected by the proposals, de Souza has requested detailed data from the Home Office regarding the number of impacted children, their locations, and the support they would require. She noted that despite her requests, the department has not been able to assure her of the scope of the impact on families. The Commissioner’s intervention comes amidst Mahmood’s broader warnings that failure to control migration could lead to social fear and ethno-nationalism.