To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take in response to the recommendation by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that the UK should provide disaggregated statistical data on the number of children seeking asylum; and when she plans to take those steps. (242365)

Statistics on numbers of children seeking asylum are published on an annual basis in the Asylum Statistics United Kingdom bulletin.

Information on the number of asylum applications and initial decisions broken down by age and the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children is available in this publication. Information on the number of persons held in detention solely under immigration Act powers for those recorded as being under the age of 18 as at the last Saturday of the quarter are also available from the Control of Immigration Quarterly statistical bulletin.

These publications are available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office research, development and statistics website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html