UK children’s commissioner vows to make regular visits to hotels hosting asylum minors
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- 14 Mar 2023
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Dame Rachel de Souza faces criticism for only making two visits to hotels in the past 19 months
The UK’s children’s commissioner has pledged to increase visits to hotels hosting unaccompanied minors seeking asylum.
Dame Rachel de Souza has faced criticism after it was revealed she had only visited two hotels in the past 19 months.
It comes as hundreds of children have gone missing amid fears they are being taken by gangs.
An investigation by children’s advocacy body Article 39 discovered that despite the growing scandal over the whereabouts of the missing children, Dame Rachel had only made two visits herself and her team only made three visits to interview minors up until last week.
The team only visited two hotels in Kent and one in Coventry and not the hotel in Brighton, which has reported the largest number of disappearances.
The commissioner’s office has told The National a team is planning a number of visits over the next two weeks.
“My team and I have stepped up our visits to the children in the hotels run by the Home Office over the past 18 months and have a programme of monthly in-person visits planned alongside much more regular advice and advocacy through Help at Hand,” she said in a statement.
From only one of Brighton’s hotels, more than 200 children — some as young as 11 — have gone missing and 76 remain unaccounted for.
Nationally, more than 440 young unaccompanied asylum seekers have gone missing from hotels since the Home Office began its policy of housing them in the venues in July 2021.
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“Dame Rachel de Souza has unique legal powers to enter any premises that are not private homes, in order to interview children and check the standard of care provided there,” Article 39 said.
“None of the visits made by the Children’s Commissioner or her team were to the Brighton and Hove hotel. Read More…
