To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 10,000 missing unaccompanied child refugees in Europe, as estimated by Europol in January, have since been identified; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which those identified were then given appropriate care.
Answered on
10 January 2017
The Government values the work of NGOs and the volunteers, who have played a crucial role in Calais supporting children. The primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in Europe lies with the State in which they are present. There are no easy answers but our humanitarian and resettlement efforts will continue, as will our work with European and international partners to reach a political resolution so that those who have been displaced by conflict can eventually return to their homes and livelihoods in peace. The Government has established a £10 million Refugee Children Fund for Europe to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children arriving in Europe. The UK is the largest bilateral contributor to the humanitarian response to the crisis in Europe and the Balkans with a total allocation of £70 million.