Briefings on the Nationality and Borders Bill, 2021 and 2022
The RMCC provided broad evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights for its legislative scrutiny of the Nationality and Borders Bill but as the Bill made its way through the Lords, the coalition focussed mainly on the part of the Bill that focussed on age assessments. The RMCC raised concerns that the Bill would:
- increase the use of age assessments, even when there are no reasons to doubt the child’s age;
- give the Home Office too much power to determine who assesses age, when and how, undermining the role of social workers as child protection experts;
- set the legal threshold too high leading to more children being wrongly treated as adults; and
- allow the government to use scientific methods that may be inaccurate and harmful.
The RMCC published the following briefings:
- Nationality and Borders Bill – House of Commons Committee Stage – Evidence on new clauses NC29-37 on Age Assessments
- Nationality and Borders Bill – House of Commons Report Stage – Age Assessments
- Nationality and Borders Bill – House of Lords Second Reading – Part 4 (Age Assessments)
- Nationality and Borders Bill – House of Lords Committee Stage – Briefing on new clause 151C* (Age assessments: restrictions)
- Nationality and Borders Bill – House of Lords Report Stage – Briefing on new clause 64A* (Age assessments: restrictions)
- Nationality and Borders Bill – Briefing on Lords new clause (Age assessments: restrictions) (amendment 22)
RMCC members drafted a new clause, based on principles from international and domestic law and guidance, which sets out what an expert and fair age assessment process should look like. It had cross-party support in the Lords led by cross-bencher Baroness Neuberger and supported by the Labour and Liberal Democrat frontbenches as well as the Bishop of Durham and the Lords Spiritual. The division was won by a margin of 70 votes and saw 2 Conservative Peers rebel, but the amendment was overturned when the Bill returned to the Commons.