European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill — Clause 37 — Arrangements with EU about Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum — 22 Jan 2020 at 14:05

The majority of MPs voted against requiring ministers to seek to negotiate with the EU to allow unaccompanied children seeking asylum to join their relatives by moving from the UK to the EU or vice-versa, and instead voted to require the Government to set out its policy on this subject.

MPs were considering the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill.^[1]

The motion supported by a majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 4.

Lords amendment 4^[2] stated:

• Leave out Clause 37

Clause 37 was titled: Arrangements with EU about unaccompanied children seeking asylum and provided for the replacement of Section 17 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 which began:

• A Minister of the Crown must seek to negotiate, on behalf of the United Kingdom, an agreement with the EU under which, after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, in accordance with the agreement—
• (a)an unaccompanied child who has made an application for international protection to a member State may, if it is in the child’s best interests, come to the United Kingdom to join a relative who—
• (i)is a lawful resident of the United Kingdom, or
• (ii)has made a protection claim which has not been decided, and
• (b)an unaccompanied child in the United Kingdom, who has made a protection claim, may go to a member State to join a relative there, in equivalent circumstances.

with a provision stating:

• A Minister of the Crown must, within the period of two months beginning with the day on which the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 is passed, lay before Parliament a statement of policy in relation to any future arrangements between the United Kingdom and the EU about—
• (a)unaccompanied children, who make an application for international protection to a member State, coming to the United Kingdom where it is in their best interests to join arelative who—
• (i)is a lawful resident of the United Kingdom, or
• (ii)has made a protection claim which has not been decided, and(b)unaccompanied children in the United Kingdom, who make aprotection claim, going to a member State to join a relative there in equivalent circumstances.”
• [1] Parliament's webpage on the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill. Parliament.uk website
• [2] Lords amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, Parliament.uk website
• [3] Version of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill as introduced to the House of Lords, 9 January 2020, Parliament.uk website
• [4] Explanatory notes to Lords amendment 4, , Parliament.uk website

Debate in Parliament |