Report raises concerns over staff awareness of duties to child immigration detainees
Neil Puffett
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Holding facilities for immigration detainees have improved in recent years but concerns remain around some issues relating to children, a report has found.
The report, A Review of Short-term Holding Facility Inspections 2004–2010, noted an improvement in the physical environment in which immigration detainees are held. However, it found that unrelated men, women and families were still being co-located and there was a lack of staff awareness of their responsibilities in relation to children.
Under changes brought in by the current government, child detention has been ended, although children may still be held in "pre-departure accommodation" for up to 72 hours.
The inspection focused on short-term holding facilities at ports and immigration reporting centres, intended to hold people detained for short periods before removal or during investigations by immigration officers after arrival in the UK. This included airport facilities and police stations used to hold immigration detainees.
Despite the concerns the inspectors did find many positives. A number of facilities previously considered unfit for purpose had been rebuilt or substantially refurbished and G4S, contracted by the UK Border Agency to run facilities across the UK, has developed a range of policies to support a "humane and welfare-focused approach" to detention.
Nick Hardwick, chief inspector of prisons, said: "For most of those detained, short-term holding facilities (STHFs) are their first experience of detention and they are likely to feel fear, stress and uncertainty. Some will have been refused entry and will be waiting for a return flight. Others will have been picked up from their homes during early morning operations by immigration enforcement teams.
"An STHF therefore needs to provide a safe and decent environment in which the detainee can use the time available to prepare for their return, release or transfer.
"The independent inspection process is an important safeguard for detainees and I am pleased to see that in the period covered by this report, standards have risen. I hope this report will encourage further improvement."
