The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) now plays a significant role in how Merton-compliant age assessments are conducted across England. As a social worker with over 25 years' experience in children's services, including nine years managing a specialist UASC team, I think the sector needs to ask some honest questions about whether this model best serves young people — and whether the resource could be deployed more effectively elsewhere. The establishment of the National Age Assessment...

Few phrases appear more frequently in age assessment practice — and few are more consistently misunderstood. "Benefit of the doubt." Solicitors invoke it in instructions. Social workers apply it in reports. Courts scrutinise whether it has been properly understood. And yet, in my experience of conducting and reviewing Merton-compliant age assessments, it remains one of the most misapplied principles in the entire field. This post sets out what the principle actually means, what the case law...

Age assessments are one of the most consequential processes in the UK immigration and children's services system — and one of the least understood. This post explains the role of the appropriate adult in an age assessment, why it matters, and where to access free training resources on the topic. What is an age assessment? An age assessment is a formal process carried out by a local authority when there is genuine doubt about whether a young person claiming to be a child is actually under 18....