Hundreds of migrant children put at 'significant' risk after being wrongly classified as adults - AOL

Hundreds of migrant children were placed in hotels or detention centres after being wrongly assessed as adults by Home Office officials. At least 755 children were placed in adult accommodation or detention last year following visual age assessments at the border. Freedom of information data from 85 local authorities in England and Scotland shows 1,504 referrals to children’s services in 2025 involving young people sent to Home Office adult accommodation while claiming to be children. Of 1,454 people age-evaluated, 52% were found to be children, and the true number was likely higher because not all councils shared data. Government data for the year to March 2026 shows 6,420 initial age assessments, with 43% found to be adults and 57% found to be children. Between July and December 2025, 326 children were designated as adults before decisions were overturned, and 377 people were still awaiting age decisions.

"Hundreds of migrant children have been put at "significant risk" in hotels or detention centres after they were wrongly assessed to be adults by the Home Office, a damning new report has found. At least 755 children were wrongly placed in adult accommodation or detention last year after officials concluded they were adults during visual assessments at the border, data reported by the Helen Bamber Foundation shows."

"Freedom of information data sourced from 85 local authorities in England and Scotland shows that in 2025, there were 1,504 referrals to councils' children's services departments in relation to young people who had been sent to Home Office adult accommodation but were claiming to be children. Of the 1,454 people who were subject to an age evaluation, 52 per cent were found to be children, said the human rights charity, which has been tracking the issue for the past four years."

"On Thursday, the government published for the first time data showing how many migrants had been age-assessed, and what the outcomes of these evaluations were. It revealed that in the year to March 2026, 6,420 people were subject to an initial age-assessment - equivalent to 7 per cent of asylum claimants. Some 43 per cent of migrants whose age was evaluated, either by Home Office officials or by council workers, were found to be adults, with the remaining 57 per cent found to be children."

"Between July and December 2025, 326 migrant children were designated as adults before the decision was overturned, the data found. A further 377 people are still waiting for a decision about their age. Kamena Dorling, director of policy at the Helen Bamber Foundation, said it was a "huge step forward" that the Home Office had published this data for the first time."

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