Children's watchdog to visit young migrants' centre

Concerns have been raised about conditions at the migrant processing centre

A migrant processing centre is to be visited by the Children's Commissioner for England after concerns were raised over the safeguarding of children at the facility.

Dame Rachel de Souza is scheduled to visit the Home Office-run site in Manston, Kent, this week, her office has confirmed.

It was announced in March that the government would launch a statutory inquiry into the alleged mistreatment of asylum seekers at the centre.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The treatment of unaccompanied children is taken very seriously by the Home Office and they are not routinely taken to Manston."

The office of the Children's Commissioner is an independent organisation with a legal duty to promote and protect the rights of all children in England, including unaccompanied asylum seekers.

The watchdog is able to provide advice and make representations on behalf of children, but it is unable to undertake safeguarding investigations.

It did not confirm to the BBC what specific concerns had been made in relation to children at the site or by whom.

But it said that it could raise concerns with "relevant authorities and inspectorates", including the Home Office, home secretary and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI).

'Significant improvements'

Manston, a former military base in Kent, opened as a processing centre in February 2022 in response to a growing number of migrants arriving in the UK in small boats.

In late 2022, thousands of migrants were placed in tents at the centre due to an apparent lack of alternative accommodation, leading to overcrowding and disease, including diphtheria.

The Home Office has previously said "significant improvements" had been made to the site.

But in March, the department said it would launch a statutory inquiry into conditions at the site following demands, including from former detainees.

A spokesperson added that children who arrived with their families were accommodated separately from single adult males, "and the health and well-being of all arrivals is taken seriously at every stage of the process".