The compensation payment to child asylum seekers who were unlawfully detained (Report, 18 February) is a symptom of a deeper problem affecting, at any one time, thousands of young asylum seekers claiming to be children who arrive in the UK. The current system for assessing the age of these vulnerable young people unable to prove their age has led to an unprecedented level of legal challenge through judicial review in the high court. However, it is also true to say that there is no "magic bullet" for assessing age correctly.
We are working closely with the UKBA to continue to make changes in this area to ensure that these children's rights are not breached and they do not lose out on other key entitlements that we would expect for our own children such as appropriate accommodation, support and education. However, in the absence of a scientific tool to accurately determine chronological age, statutory guidance is urgently needed to ensure the highest standards of assessment for the local authorities charged with making these decisions. The local authorities should not be left on their own with this onerous responsibility. In particular, children's doctors should be involved in a collaborative assessment process from the day the young person is referred for care.
Dr Maggie Atkinson
Children's commissioner for England
• Of course the UKBA is not "fit for purpose" (Border agency to be split after passport check fiasco, 21 February). But the purpose it is not fit for is ensuring protection for those in need, in line with our international humanitarian obligations. Instead, the UKBA is guilty of practical barriers to claiming asylum, oppressive interviewing, ignorant and unfeeling decisions, unlawful detention – in short, a culture of disbelief. This is what criticism should be aimed at.
John Nicholson
Kenworthys Chambers, Salford