Young Offenders: Bedford

Age assessment is a difficult area of work, with no single assessment technique, or combination of techniques, able to determine age with precision. Where an individual claims to be a child without any credible and clear documentary evidence of age, and where there is reason to doubt their claimed age, immigration officers are required to make an initial age decision to determine whether the individual should be treated as a child or an adult. This is an important first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure individuals are routed to the correct adult or child process. Where age is in doubt, the Home Office works closely with local authorities and the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) to ensure individuals are treated in accordance with their assessed age, and that appropriate care and support arrangements are in place.

The Home Office is currently providing a range of support to affected local authorities. This includes regular bilateral engagement with the impacted authorities, and support from the NAAB. In Bedford's case specifically, the NAAB has prioritised support for conducting age assessments and bespoke training for local authority social workers to increase local assessment capability and capacity.