Vulnerable Children in a Hostile Environment: The Legal and Social Impacts of Covid-19 on Young Unaccompanied Asylum-Seekers in England

Pandemics affect all people, but they disproportionately impact those who are already multiply disadvantaged, physically, materially, legally, and mentally, such as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people (defined legally as 'UASCs'). UASCs are multiply impacted by Covid-19: their fragile immigration status, overwhelmed health care systems, restricted access to welfare and education services, and the mental health effects of self-isolation all compound their vulnerabilities.

Above all, due to the suspension of asylum proceedings since March 2020 in the UK, access to legal advice, representation and associated support have been severely compromised. Asylum delays and information blockages exacerbated by Covid-19 make it especially difficult for UASC to evidence their claims, increasing their potential to 'age-out' of the special protections available to them as children and increasing the risks of exploitation and abuse.

In addition to reduced access to legal justice, the broader social impacts of Covid-19 on UASC may be more acute and enduring than on any other group of children. The rules on social distancing compound their isolation, particularly since they are already separated from the family support and social networks that have been so crucial to other children.

Social isolation and lockdown restrictions coupled with low levels of language ability and poor internet connectivity exacerbate difficulties in accessing support services, including mental health, education and legal advice.

Our research will be the first attempt to scrutinise how Covid-19 is affecting the asylum system, and specifically UASCs. Importantly, it will be informed by the lived experiences of UASCs from Albania and by accounts from immigration practitioners, social workers and civil society representatives working in the field. Young people from Albania form one of the largest groups of UASCs in the UK and are known to face particular difficulties in accessing legal and related support services compared to other UASCs.

That said, the insights gained from this study will shed light on the challenges that Covid-19 presents for UASCs more widely.

In essence, the project will provide crucial evidence to assist legal practitioners and policy makers working in the area of asylum to plan long-term support for these children and deal with delays. In the process, the project evaluates the purchase of domestic and international law and guidance in supporting UASC claims for asylum, and how uncertainty, risk and rights relating to this group are being negotiated in the meantime.

Specifically, the study has four interlinked objectives relating to:

1. IMPACTS: To examine the impact of Covid-19 on the asylum system (evidence gathering and decision-making processes) and on the provision of legal advice and representation and associated welfare support for UASC;

2. RISK AND RESISTANCE: To explore the strategies adopted by front line practitioners (lawyers, judges, welfare professionals) and UASCs themselves to respond to the challenges and delays presented by Covid-19;

3. AGEING OUT: To systematically examine the extent to which Covid-19 has increasing UASCs potential to 'age out' of the special protections available to children, and the implications of that for the resolution of their claims;

4. LEGACIES: To identify longer term lessons, opportunities and threats arising from Covid-19 regarding the reception and disposal of UASCs, particularly in the face of seemingly inevitable impending austerity and immigration hostility.

The research will adopt an interdisciplinary (drawing on insights from law, public policy, psychology, sociology, children and youth studies, education and human rights) and a mixed-methods approach which builds on the applicants' leading work in this field, and harnesses their established network of contacts in legal practice, social work, civil society organisations and among UASCs themselv