16yr old has no access to her ID

[leavesinthebreeze]

NC for this as quite outing.
Basics are:
16yr old has runaway from home. She is now settled and safe with a family friend. Social services are satisfied she is safe so have closed the case with her. She has applied to start college in September. The problem we currently have is that her parents are withholding her passport and her birth certificate. She was born in Bangladesh but moved here 5 years ago. We have been unable to get her an NI number, register her at a GP surgery or open a bank account because she has no ID. I sought legal advice (free) who said get the police involved. The police said seek legal advice. I have emailed the Bangladeshi consulate to enquire about a replacement birth certificate it not heard back yet. College told her she can get a bursary when she starts there but with no ID this is not definite now. I have contacted Muslim Women’s Network who have been supportive but there seems to be no way to get these documents without having to pay gor replacements (money she doesn’t have). She is currently looking for part time work and has a share code to show she it’s entitled to live and work here. The family friend she is living with is not an official guardian and SS did not suggest that should happen.

Has anyone got any extra advice or anything I have missed in trying to get these documents from her parents?

Thanks all - looks like another day of phone calls tomorrow!
I don’t understand why her e visa doesn’t count as ID - it has her name and dob on it plus her photo!

Would also suggest you both speak to Karma Nirvana about the whole situation - it sounds like honour based abuse to me.

https://karmanirvana.org.uk/

https://karmanirvana.org.uk/get-help/myself/how-do-i-know/

It isn’t easy to get to wherever her old GP is as it’s a few hours away - but even just finding out which surgery it is would be helpful I think

Thank you for doing this for her.

The photo of her passport, does it have a 17 digit number in the personal number section? Looks like that is the birth certificate number she needs to get a digital copy of her birth certificate. I can’t say how much use it will be, but possibly helpful for something? There is a video here, you can change the subtitles to English.

Not in London no. We have discussed the teaspoon thing. She is a definitely registered somewhere with a GP as when we went on nhs website to try and find her NHS number it gave the options of sending it to her parents email/phone/home address.

I will ask her. Her passport number is quite short I think - begins with A and only about 8 digits. It’s a Bangladeshi passport.

She is worried that when she registers for a new GP her parents will
somehow find out because they both work for the NHS - her a GP and he is quite high up

eta parents find out where she is I mean. SS haven’t told them her new address.

Unless an over 14 provides written consent you can no longer have access to their notes just make repeat prescriptions I know this as a parent of a 15 and 14 year old as I recently had to take them to the surgery and make them sign consent forms for just this.

this is the sort of thing that mp’s can often help get things moving. Forced marriage is illegal and therefore the police and social services must take it seriously with her being under 18. Contact the mp and tell them what you have told us, that she needs her paperwork from her parents but if she goes to the house she will be made to go to Bangladesh to marry

It’s not the passport number, it’s a different section. It says it will either be the birth certificate number or the national id number (which she won’t have as she’s under 18).

Ah ok - sorry I misunderstood. I will ask her tomorrow. Thank you so much. All of you.

Oh and you do not need to give your nhs number or the previous surgery to register with a new gp. You can also use a care of address and later update it to the perm address. It may be helpful to see if there is a local surgery that supports homeless people as they may be more helpful.

You can get post redirected with no ID.

From https://www.royalmail.com/redirections/new/summary:

She doesn’t have a bank card

Everytime a patient record is accessed there is an audit trail of the date/time/who it was and these audit trails are routinely checked.

Its illegal under a number of laws and regulations for anyone to access her patient record for anything other than in the course of their job.

The GMC look very dimly on data breaches and would likely look for dismissal and the medical professional concerned struck off.

@leavesinthebreeze You’ve mentioned she was at a different school 2 years ago (before the Muslim school) / they may have records showing which gp she was registered with, they may even have copies of birth certificate and passport or records of the numbers etc - worth a call

I don't have any advice but I just wanted to say thank you for all you are doing for this young lady, I shall add you both to my prayers that you can somehow cut through all the red tape to get her the documents she needs and that she remains safe and continues to flourish under your care. God bless you x

The person she’s currently staying with can pay if they have a bank card registered at that address. The card doesn’t need to be in the name of the redirectee.

They also have a number for anyone redirecting mail due to domestic abuse: https://www.royalmail.com/redirections/new/domesticabuse

@leavesinthebreeze

Can she request a reminder of her NI number, OP?

www.gov.uk/find-national-insurance-number

OP, I agree a PP about with making an appointment with your local MP. They’re surprisingly good at cutting through red tape.

Maybe she should think about reconciliation with her parents. If they are both doctors surely she has come from a good home. Not sure I approve of a 'friend' sheltering her if the parents are not abusive.

They dragged her to Bangladesh when she ran away the first time. They've threatened her with forced marriage. Her previous school called SS and her parents upped and moved.

Do these parents sound like good people to you?

She has to apply for one but has no ID

You don’t need to approve. SS do approve of where she is now staying and have not shared the address with her parents and they know a bit more about the situation than you do.

eta the lady she is living with is not a ‘friend’ - she is a decent woman who is helping her own dd’s friend. If she had turned this girl away who knows where she would have ended up as there was no way she would go back to her parents.