Good practice in social care for refugees and asylum seekers

Background: People detained under the Mental Health Acts

The 1983 and 2007 Mental Health Acts provide a legislative framework for the assessment and care of people who care detained under the 1983 Mental Health Act. Asylum seekers and refugees detained under Section 3 of the 1983 Act are entitled to after care services under Section 117. The 2007 Act made amendments to the 1983 Act and introduced the provision of independent mental health advocacy (IMHA) to ensure that detained patients understand their rights under the Act and are supported to participate in decisions about their care and treatment.

Links to legislation and briefings regarding the Mental Health Acts

Guidance specific to asylum seekers and refugees

More detailed guidance is available on the UKBA website in Policy Bulletin 82: Asylum Seekers with Care Needs. The Separated Children in Europe Programme, a joint venture of Save the Children and the UNHCR, has produced a Statement of Good Practice (Separated Children in Europe Programme 2004) which includes principles for good practice and practice examples.

Concern at the treatment of children and young people in the asylum system has led to significant new proposals from the UKBA (Code of Practice for Keeping Children Safe from Harm and Better Outcomes: the Way Forward). This includes policy in relation to age assessment, because of the crucial implications of age for entitlement to services. The NRPF network provides practical guidance in relation to asylum seekers who have no recourse to public funds. these links relate to children, adults and victims of domestic violence respectively:

LAC (2003) 13 provides guidance in response to the Hillingdon judgement. Additional guidance relevant for the needs of women (Policy Bulletin 70: Domestic Violence) can be found on the UKBA website.

Additional legislation and policy regarding local authority and social services

Access to and provision of social care to asylum seekers and refugees needs to take place with regard to current legislation and policy for the provision of social care. In particular:

Every Child Matters (ECM) which incorporates the entitlement of every child to five key outcomes: be healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; make a positive contribution; achieve economic wellbeing. The emphasis of the ECM strategy is on interagency working through Children’s Trusts led by local authorities but including a range of statutory and non-statutory agencies providing, health, education, welfare and protection for children. A key part of this is the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), aimed at children and young people with ‘additional needs’ who are at risk of poor outcomes and incorporating multi-agency assessment based on three ‘domains’ of (i) the child, (ii) parents and carers, (iii) the family and wider environment.
Implementation of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (PDF fIle), which reflects a commitment to protect vulnerable adults and children from harm. Consideration should be given to the inclusion of asylum seekers and refugees within relevant policies.
Statutory duty to undertake a joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA): asylum seekers and refugees should be included as part of the JSNA, which should also involve consulting with asylum seekers and refugees about their needs. This provides an opportunity both to inform commissioning strategies and to plan for population changes:
Putting people first (HM Government 2007) outlines the elements of a personalised social care system. It advocates the provision of a 'first stop shop’ to provide a universal information, advice and advocacy service for people needing services, and their carers, irrespective of their eligibility for public funding:
Transforming social care (2008) also sets out a vision for a personalised approach for social care working in partnership with other organisations to promote well-being and prevention:
Implementation of public sector duties in relation to promoting equality and fairness with consideration to race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or faith.
Responsibilities to promote community cohesion: referred to in a range of policy and legislation, for example, guidance to local authorities on how to mainstream community cohesion within all their services:
Carers’ Strategy, 2008 - sets out the vision and long-term strategy for carers:
Welsh Assembly Government Circular 29/03 - Guidance on accommodating children in need and their families:
Welsh Assembly Government, Fulfilled lives, supportive communities: improving social services in Wales from 2008-2018. Outlines a 10-year strategy for social services in Wales: