Immigration and Asylum Support for Children and Families In Edinburgh

Aims

Social work assessment Communication

Referral processImmigration & asylum issues

Needs e.g. health &

education Services

Referral – via Social Care Direct

• 1) Child protection + immigration/asylum issues - Allocated local social worker + involvement of Immigration & Asylum Support Social Worker

• 2) Children – immigration/asylum issues only (+ child protection in South West) - Allocated Immigration & Asylum Support Social Worker/ Social Work Assistant.

• 3) Adults – Health and Social Care– Immigration and Asylum Support Team

Social work assessment • Consider meeting venue and basic needs • Safety, Getting it Right for Every Child, agency checks • Child’s wishes and feelings • Victoria Climbié – importance of checking documents, and completing full assessment of need

Communication

• Language line (phone)/face to face (Interpreting and Translation Service)

• Any other languages/dialects? • Allow more time/repetition • Check interpreter does not have community links with thefamily. • Consider gender of interpreter • Literacy level?

European Economic Area (EEA) nationals

• EEA = European Union countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

• EEA nationals are not ‘persons subject to immigration control’ as long as they are exercising an ‘enforceable Community right’ (Kyambi, p.7): Worker/job-seeker/student

• Limited social work role• The challenge of Habitual Residency • Support from Embassy (London)

No/Recourse to Public Funds

• Public funds – defined in paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules. E.g. Income support, housing benefit, child benefit. (Kyambi, 2012, p.6)

• ‘persons subject to immigration control’ e.g. ‘overstayers, illegal entrants, sponsored immigrants, people on work, student or family visas with no recourse to public funds, and, people pursuing certain immigration appeals.” (Kyambi, 2012, p.7)

• Can have right to work, but not to public funds • Advice Shop (Welfare Rights)/Citizens Advice Bureau• Social work can support between the gap of applying for benefits,

once eligible, and them arriving• NRPF Connect – limited data sharing between Local Authority and

the Home Office, e.g. Can request background check

Temporary accommodation Special Lets

Housing Association Women’s refuge.

Other support?

• Family/friends• Faith group• Child

Maintenance

Long-term support?

• Asylum support levels

• Free school meals

• Cash/’in kind’ e.g. Vouchers

Specific needs?

• One-off needs • Charities e.g.

bus journey to school

Admin

• Destitution form • Parents can

collect from local social work office

EXAMPLE: Finance check • Based on current asylum support rates (Home Office, 2014) • Cash support Weekly payment• Married couple or couple in civil partnership - £72.52• Lone parent aged 18 or over - £43.94• Single person aged 18 or over - £36.62• Aged 16 to 18 - £39.80• Aged under 16 - £52.96 • EXAMPLE • No savings or child maintenance • Single Mum - £43.94 per week • 1 boy - £52.96 per week

Family issues

• Limited historical records /identity documents• Practical needs• Physical Health, e.g. Female genital mutilation• Mental health • Domestic abuse, Forced marriage• Social isolation – linguistic, cultural • Layers of risk: in Edinburgh/abroad

Immigration issues

• Family member of a European Economic Area National (‘Zambrano’)

• Smuggling/Trafficking • Unaccompanied minor • Human Rights application • Citizenship • Domestic violence concession • Asylum• Voluntary return (Refugee action)

Immigration Legal Advice .

Parent/child

• Needs own solicitor – Children & Families social work do not provide immigration advice

• Children, generally 12+, can access Legal Services Agency in own right

• Solicitor needs financial information for legal aid application

Professional

• Legal Services Agency – confidential advice line

• Parent’s solicitor • Children and Families

Legal Services

STATUTORYPolice, Social work

HEALTH & EDUCATIONSchools, early years centre, college, midwifery services

IMMIGRATIONHome Office, Solicitor

Refugee Action (voluntary return) Scottish Refugee Council Refugee Survival Trust

VOLUNTARYShakti women’s aid

Edinburgh women’s aid Multi-cultural Family Base

Children and Families Across Borders

Services

Physical & Mental Health • PRIMARY CARE: GP registration. Access Point – takes temporary patients. • SECONDARY: overseas migrants can be charged.• SERVICES: • Minority Ethnic Health Inclusion Project – can support with accessing services. • Homeless Midwifery service • Health Visitors team for families in Temporary accommodation• Freedom from Torture • Saheliya • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services GLASGOW: • Asylum Bridging Team and Compass

Pregnant women

• Social services can support pregnant women with NRPF, at any stage of pregnancy.

• Connect with health services. • Practical needs• Late stages of pregnancy: not

expected to travel until baby is 6 weeks old.

• Legal Services Agency – work with pregnant women who have fled domestic abuse.

Female Genital Mutilation • FGM includes ‘procedures that intentionally alter or cause

injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons’ (World Health Organisation, 2014)

• FGM is a violation of human rights and a child protection issue. The 1985 Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act made the practice of FGM in the UK a criminal offence

• The new Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005 made revisions: it is an offence for a UK nationals or permanent residenct to carry out, aid or abet FGM in the UK or abroad

• Maximum penalty for FGM - increased to 14 years’ imprisonment.

FGM – at-risk countries (UNICEF)

FGM - Risk Factors

• Higher level of risks e.g. country of origin/extended family visiting from country of origin/if mother who has had FGM has a baby girl. However, mothers who have had FGM are often protective of their daughters.

• May be only child protection issue within an otherwise loving family.

• Referral needed to police/social care direct if potential concerns identified.

• Policy for Edinburgh & the Lothians is being updated.

Halima CASE STUDY • Halima is from West Africa. She had FGM performed aged 5. At 15, she was

forced to marry a man 25 years older than her and she experienced physical and emotional domestic abuse. They came to the UK for a holiday. She escaped, and lived with her family in hiding for 5 years in England. She fell pregnant, and her family in her country sent her herbs to induce a termination. She arrived in Scotland to meet the father to her unborn baby, but he did not arrive. A stranger took her to the police station, who referred her to social work. Her baby is due in 3 months time. The Home Office have no record of her entering the UK; she speaks limited English, and has no identity documents.

• Can social work support Halima? • What services might help? • Can Halima stay in Edinburgh?

…Halima CASE STUDY

• Social work provided safe housing and living expenses whilst linking into services including midwifery service. Halima sought immigration advice, and claimed asylum. She requested asylum support, and moved into Home Office accommodation (outwith Edinburgh).

• Halima was showing potential trauma relating to FGM and domestic abuse. A referral was made to mental health services.

• A referral was also made to the Scottish Refugee Council family support service.

Asylum

What is asylum? (UN 1951 Refugee Convention)

Seek legal advice. Asylum Help and Advice now

provided by Migrant Help who can apply for asylum

support

Social work background letter, proof of destitution

Consider childcare needed during interview

Social worker can support in moving family and

belongings to home office accommodation

Refer to services in new area as appropriate e.g. Scottish Refugee Council

family support team

Aliya CASE STUDY

• Aliya is from North Africa and married there before coming to the UK on a spouse visa. Suleyman was born in Scotland and is now aged one. Aliya had significant physical health problems and experienced emotional domestic abuse from her husband and his family. Her husband has threatened to take away Suleyman and to force her to leave the UK alone. Although socially isolated, she has one trusted friend.

• What happened next?

...Aliya CASE STUDY

• Aliya’s friend took her to the GP, who referred her to Shakti, who planned a safe exit and referred Suleyman to social services. Social work provided finance until benefits arrived, and Aliya and Suleyman lived in a safe, confidential address. Supervised contact was arranged through the Courts. Mum applied under the domestic violence concession and was granted indefinite leave to remain.

Domestic abuse

• Safety plan e.g. Confidential address, new mobile phone, change school?

• Child’s contact with other parent • In relations, abusive wider family • Children and families solicitor • Immigration solicitor

Forced marriage

• Different from arranged marriage. • Legal protection: Forced Marriage etc (Protection

and Jurisdiction)(Scotland) Act 2011 introduced Forced Marriage Protection Orders, to protect people from being forced to marry, or who have already been forced, without their free and full consent

• Should always be referred to Social Care Direct as an adult protection or child protection issue, depending on the age of the victim. Needs a sensitive and urgent response

Amanuel: CASE STUDY

• Following an arduous 5-month journey, Amanuel arrived in the UK aged 17, without identity documents, and with no family in UK. He had been smuggled across several borders.

• Can children and families social work support

Amanuel? • Is an age assessment needed?

...Amanuel: CASE STUDY

• Social services supported Amanuel as a Looked After Child under Section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act. This will positively impact on his future care

• Full age assessment was not completed, as presenting age appeared to correspond with stated age

• Immediate needs: food, money, safe housing, health check

• Longer-term needs: to claim asylum with his Solicitor’s support, get immunisations, access social activities, college, English skills, and opportunities to meet other young people and practise his faith

Unaccompanied Young people

• Age assessment – Edinburgh’s policy is being updated.

• Scottish Refugee Council (2012) best practice guidelines

• Scottish Guardianship project • Separated Children forum

Human Trafficking and smuggling

• Trafficking is definied in the Palermo Protocol as being for the purpose of exploitation. A child cannot consent to being exploited.

• Different to Smuggling, which is for the purpose of material gain and must include illegal travel across a border. (ECPAT, 2014).

• Trafficking Consortium – meets at Parliament. • National Referral Mechanism (ECPAT, 2014) in cases of

potential trafficking. • Scottish Guardianship Project work with trafficked young

people.

Making decisions

• Child’s planning meeting • Immigration Cases Panel – monthly• NRPF Network.

Summary

With a regularly reviewed assessment of need, children and their parents/carers can be supported by social services with finances and accommodation, under Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, or Section 25 for unaccompanied minors, to safeguard and promote children’s wellbeing.

References • Department for Health and Home Office (2003), Laming, W. The Victoria Climbié Inquiry, Inquiry by Lord Laming. Crown

Copyright. • Dyball, K.; McPhie, G.; Tudor, C. (2012) Age assessment practice guidance: An age assessment pathway for social workers in

Scotland . Scottish Refugee Council . • Home Office. Asylum Support. 23 October 2014. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/asylum-support/what-youll-get• Home Office. 21 February 2014 . Public Funds. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-funds--2 • End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes,. 2014 ‘http://www.ecpat.org.uk

/content/national-referral-mechanism The National Referral Mechanism• End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, ‘What is Trafficking?’. Available at: • http://www.ecpat.org.uk/content/definition-trafficking • Kyambi, S. (2013) Establishing Migrants’ Access to Benefits and Local Authority Services in Scotland (COSLA Strategic

Migration Partnership). • World Health Organisation (2014) Female Genital Mutilation. Available at:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/

• Links: • Home Office Country of Origin Reports – http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/coi/ • NRPF Guidelines – http://www.nrpfnetwork.org.uk/Pages/Home/aspx • Human Trafficking – http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Tops/Justic/crimes/humantraffick/childtrafficking

Contacts Social care direct (to refer children) – 0131 200 2327

Mon - Thurs 08.30 - 17.00 Fri - 08.30 - 15.55

Emergency social work services - 0800 731 6969All other times

• Ruth Weston, Social Worker: Immigration and Asylum Support • Direct: 0131 4539166 • Ruth.Weston@Edinburgh.gov.uk • Sean Bell, Neighbourhood Manager, 0131 453 9124 • Imran Shah, Social Work Assistant • Direct: 0131 453 9414 • Imran.Shah@Edinburgh.gov.uk • South West Edinburgh Children's Practice Team - Wester Hailes Healthy Living

Centre, 30 Harvesters Way, Edinburgh, EH14 3JF