Age dispute

The age of the person arriving in the UK is normally established from the documentation with which they have travelled. Unfortunately, many children and young people who arrive in the UK via irregular means do not have any documentation to help verify their age and identity. Many will be clearly children, while for some, there can be uncertainties and have their age disputed by the authorities and would have to be subject to an age assessment by the relevant Council.

Where an age assessment is required, the Council must adhere to standards established within case law. The Merton case: R (B) v Merton LBC [2003] 4 All ER 280 (or what is commonly referred to as the age assessment being “Merton Compliant”) and subsequent case law, though Merton judgement remains important from the perspective of setting out an assessment approach. In the ‘Merton’ case, the judge set down broad guidelines of how age ought to be assessed in respect of unaccompanied minors who arrive in the UK without documentary evidence to prove their age.

Key to Merton guidance is that “age assessments should only be carried out where there is reason to doubt that the individual is the age they claim. Age assessments should not be a routine part of a local authority’s assessment of unaccompanied or trafficked children”.
The Association of Directors of Children Services (ADCS) have produced Age Assessment Guidance and Information Sharing Guidance for UASC to assist social workers and their managers in undertaking age assessments in England.