Social workers should not assess asylum seeker ages for Home Office, professional body says

Home Office is recruiting them for national assessment board, taking decision away from local authorities

The professional body for social workers has urged its members not to work with the Home Office to assess the ages of asylum seekers, saying that political pressures could undermine their professional judgment.

The Home Office is recruiting social workers to join the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), which was set up under the Nationality and Borders Act to take responsibility for determining the age of asylum seekers away from local authorities.