Refugees: Gaza
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to help ensure that children medically evacuated from Gaza will not be subject to forced return to (a) Gaza or (b) an unsafe country following treatment in the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The Prime Minister announced at the end of July that the UK will medically evacuate Gazan children for treatment in the UK. A cross-government taskforce is working urgently to get some of these sick and injured children out of Gaza, so that they can receive specialist treatment in NHS hospitals across the UK.
At this time, we cannot comment on expected numbers as there is no set figure for the total number of children that will receive treatment over the lifetime of HMG Gaza Medevac.
All children will be accompanied by their immediate family. This means parents, and any siblings under the age of 18, who will be subject to standard security screening before travel. Those brought to the UK will be granted leave to stay for up to two years with the ability to access public funds, including treatment and wraparound support in the UK, this is irrespective of how long their treatment lasts. If individuals wish to remain beyond the initial two years, they can apply for further permission to stay under existing routes within the Immigration Rules.
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