Part 4: Age Assessment Section 52: Use of Scientific Methods in Age Assessments
Overview: The purpose of this section is to provide the Secretary of State with the power to make regulations specifying the use of scientific methods of age assessment and for a decision-maker to be able to take a negative credibility inference from a refusal to comply with a request to undergo a scientific age assessment, without good reason.
	Background: Currently, scientific age assessments are infrequently used by local authorities or the Home Office, though such information, if presented, can be considered alongside other evidence of age. In addition, there is no specific provision that permits a local authority or the Home Office to take a negative credibility inference from an individual’s refusal – without reasonable grounds – to comply with a request to undergo a scientific age assessment.
	In view of the inherent difficulty in reliably assessing age, the Government considers it is necessary and appropriate to provide decision-makers with a wider breadth of evidence on which to base their decisions. Assessing someone’s age in the absence of documentary evidence is a highly challenging task. Local authorities regularly report difficulties in handling cases that involve age disputes. As the courts have recognised, even comprehensive and thorough holistic age assessment can carry a significant margin of error. Similarly, there have been cases where assessments have been conducted on the same individual by different social workers, which have led to very different conclusions.
	The use of scientific methods offers the opportunity for more informed decision-making around an age-disputed person’s age. The United Kingdom is one of few countries in Europe that does not routinely make use of scientific methods of age assessment. Many other European countries make use of a variety of scientific techniques to assist in making decisions on age. It is the Government’s intention to fully explore the options available.
	These sections confer powers:
on the Secretary of State to make regulations concerning the use of scientific methods of age assessment; and
for a decision-maker to take a negative credibility inference from a refusal to comply with a request to undergo a scientific age assessment without good reason.
	Subsection 1 stipulates that the Secretary of State may make regulations specifying scientific methods of age assessment that may be used for the purposes of age assessments conducted under sections 50 and 51.
	Subsection 2 sets out a non-exhaustive list of the types of scientific methods that may be specified in regulations by the Secretary of State under Subsection 1. In particular, it references methods involving examinations or measurements of a person’s body (which may include, for instance, X-rays, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or ultrasound) and methods involving the analysis of samples taken from the body (such as the analysis of DNA methylation).
	Subsection 3 states that the Secretary of State’s power to make regulations specifying a scientific method under Subsection 1 is conditional on the Secretary of State having determined that the method is appropriate for assessing age, after seeking scientific advice.
	Subsection 4 stipulates that the specified scientific method may be used for the purposes of an age assessment conducted under sections 50 and 51, only where appropriate consent is given.
	Subsection 5 defines the nature of the appropriate consent that must be given under Subsection 4, including where an age-disputed person is judged to have the capacity to consent and where they are not considered to have capacity to consent. Where the latter applies, this subsection also makes provision for the Secretary of State to stipulate, in regulations, another person who can give consent on behalf of the age-disputed person.
	Subsection 6 stipulates the conditions where subsection 7 (concerning the consequences of a refusal to consent) applies. It states that a negative inference may only be taken from a refusal to provide consent where there are no reasonable grounds for refusing that consent.
	Subsection 7 stipulates the consequences of a refusal to provide appropriate consent under Subsection 5, either by the age disputed individual or an adult acting on their behalf. It states that when the decision-maker is considering an age-disputed person’s age, they must take into account a refusal to consent to undergo a scientific age assessment, without reasonable grounds, as damaging to credibility.
	Subsection 8 stipulates that the regulations made under this section will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. This means that any regulations made by the Secretary of State must be approved by both Houses of Parliament before coming into law.
	Subsection 9 clarifies that this section does not preclude the ability to undertake other scientific methods of age assessment not specified in regulations provided that it is considered appropriate to do so and the appropriate consent is sought. This reflects the pre-existing position that does not explicitly prohibit the use of scientific methods of age assessment and ensures that decision-makers retain the ability to employ other methods of age assessment where appropriate. However, failure to consent to a non-specified scientific method would not affect credibility under this section.