On Tuesday, Bishop David spoke in support of age assessments for refugees, in order to ensure that refugees who are children are able to access the full rights of a child. He referred to motion U1, proposing that if an age assessment judicial review is in process, the removal of a child will be postponed. Bishop David asked the Lord Minister if it could be guaranteed that the Rwandan government would adhere to this same process and ensure the child would be kept separate from adult residents and supervised as a child.
Watch his speech here:
Bishop David also spoke in support of motion K1, following the government amendments which would allow an unaccompanied child to seek bail after eight days if they’ve been detained for removal. Notion K1 seeks to ensure that children with their families are also given limited child detention, to prioritise their mental and physical wellbeing.
A motion moved by Bishop David was passed by the Lords last night on this matter and will go back to the Commons early next week. You can watch his speech on these amendments here: