A secret operation has been established to check the real ages of Albanian “child” migrants amid fears school staff and social workers are being put in danger.
New documents reveal that head teachers are being forced to take “disciplinary measures” against asylum seekers they believe to be adults, with some schools rejecting children over suspicions they were older than claimed.
Another study found that youths have been removed from foster families because of “behaviour towards female carers” that social workers blamed on “the gender assumptions of Albanian males”.
Last year, almost 500 migrants from the Balkan country arrived in Britain claiming to be lone children, a status which brings entitlement to a school place, a foster family and support until till the age of 25.
Close to half had their applications rejected, however.
The Home Office has now set up a team to check the real ages and family backgrounds of rejected claimants with the Albanian authorities
Chris Philip, MP for Croydon, where the asylum claims are processed, said more rigorous checks were needed.
“I am aware of problems with people who end up in foster homes and placed in schools when they’re clearly not 18,” he told the Mail on Sunday.
“It puts strain on resources, causing disruption and there are also safety issues.”
Croydon Council records show there are 433 child refugee claimants in the South London borough, 214 of whom are Albanians and 11 Syrians – almost all are adolescent males.
Other council documents lay bare the state of concern over the behaviour of some Albanian migrants.
A report from July last year said: “The fostering service has experienced breakdowns of placements for this particular group because of their behaviours towards female carers.”
In September this year councillors were told that foster placements sometimes have to be found within two hours, even though age assessments can take up to 28 days.
“This can present a safeguarding issue in foster homes or school environments when the applicant is significantly older than he claims,” a report said.
The concerns emerge weeks after the controversy over the age of 300 migrants arriving in Britain from the Jungle camp near Calais.
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services said that in 2015 a total of 789 “complex and timeconsuming” age disputes were carried and, where “around two-thirds were considered to be over 18”.
Councillor David Simmonds, from the Local Government Association, said: “People have represented themselves as children and it’s become clear there are concerns about it and they have to be taken out of that environment.”
New documents reveal that head teachers are being forced to take “disciplinary measures” against asylum seekers they believe to be adults, with some schools rejecting children over suspicions they were older than claimed.
Another study found that youths have been removed from foster families because of “behaviour towards female carers” that social workers blamed on “the gender assumptions of Albanian males”.
Last year, almost 500 migrants from the Balkan country arrived in Britain claiming to be lone children, a status which brings entitlement to a school place, a foster family and support until till the age of 25.
Close to half had their applications rejected, however.
The Home Office has now set up a team to check the real ages and family backgrounds of rejected claimants with the Albanian authorities
Chris Philip, MP for Croydon, where the asylum claims are processed, said more rigorous checks were needed.
“I am aware of problems with people who end up in foster homes and placed in schools when they’re clearly not 18,” he told the Mail on Sunday.
“It puts strain on resources, causing disruption and there are also safety issues.”
Croydon Council records show there are 433 child refugee claimants in the South London borough, 214 of whom are Albanians and 11 Syrians – almost all are adolescent males.
Other council documents lay bare the state of concern over the behaviour of some Albanian migrants.
A report from July last year said: “The fostering service has experienced breakdowns of placements for this particular group because of their behaviours towards female carers.”
In September this year councillors were told that foster placements sometimes have to be found within two hours, even though age assessments can take up to 28 days.
“This can present a safeguarding issue in foster homes or school environments when the applicant is significantly older than he claims,” a report said.
The concerns emerge weeks after the controversy over the age of 300 migrants arriving in Britain from the Jungle camp near Calais.
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services said that in 2015 a total of 789 “complex and timeconsuming” age disputes were carried and, where “around two-thirds were considered to be over 18”.
Councillor David Simmonds, from the Local Government Association, said: “People have represented themselves as children and it’s become clear there are concerns about it and they have to be taken out of that environment.”
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