In Nick Clegg’s fantasy world, child detention in the UK has ended

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told his fellow Liberal Democrats at the party’s conference in Birmingham to “hold your heads up and look our critics squarely in the eye”.

Among the many things that Liberal Democrats can be proud of when squaring up to their critics,Clegg told delegates, was that child detention has “ended”. Read more

Briefing on Immigration Detention of Children September 2011

Despite having committed to ending the immigration detention of children in May last year, the Government opened a new family detention facility in Crawley, Sussex in September 2011. This centre is described by the Government as ‘Pre-departure Accommodation’. However, the centre is secure and has areas where families and individuals can be held in isolation. Families will be detained there under Immigration Act powers. It will be run as an offshoot of the nearby Tinsley House detention centre and inspected by the Chief Inspector of Prisons. Read more

Man’s inhumanity to man: why and how the UK asylum system must change

Studies over the past ten years consistently demonstrate the callous disregard for human rights and human dignity that accompanies asylum seekers who are being removed from the UK. Medical Justice, Amnesty International and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture — now called Freedom from Torture— have reported on research that shows brutal physical violence and traumatized and ill-treated children. The UK Border Agency (UKBA), responsible for removals, has from time to time claimed to improve their systems, but the abuses continue, as this month’s reports by HM Inspector of Prisons, Nick Hardwick, confirm. Read more

Clegg and Cameron break their promise to end child detention

END CHILD DETENTION NOW – PRESS RELEASE:  Clegg and Cameron break their promise to end child detention with the opening of a new family detention centre in Sussex.

End Child Detention Now deplores the opening of a new child and family detention facility in Mid Sussex and calls for an urgent parliamentary debate so that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg can be called to account for breaching his promise to end the detention of children that he made in May of last year. Read more

Report on an announced inspection of Tinsley House IRC 7 – 11 February 2011

The family unit was in the process of refurbishment and was designed to house up to eight families with children. These plans to hold children in the IRC sit uneasily with the government’s stated commitment to end child detention for immigration purposes. We were told two types of family might be held at Tinsley House: those detained from aircraft and awaiting a flight back to their home countries, and families judged unsuitable for the new  ‘predeparture accommodation’ currently under construction nearby. We will return to inspect and report on both these family facilities once they open.

Demonstrate against new family detention centre in Sussex 30 July 2011

Croydon NoBorders is calling for a demo in Haywards Heath from 1pm on Saturday 30th July to protest against a new detention centre for children and families which is due to open in late summer at nearby Pease Pottage.

Haywards Heath is the home of Mid Sussex Council which granted planning permission for the former Crawley Forest School to be converted into a migrant prison.

The migrant prison, known euphemistically as a “pre-departure accommodation centre”, will be run by the infamous security firm G4S, who are facing charges for corporate manslaughter following the death of deportee Jimmy Mubenga on a BA flight in November. The prison will “normally” hold families for up to 72 hours but they could be held for up to a week in “exceptional circumstances”. Read more

HoL Children in Detention; prison inspection reports

Immigration: Children in Detention:

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children were detained for immigration purposes in each month of 2011.[HL10595] [HL10595]

Baroness Browning: Monthly figures are not available. Information on the number of children in detention is collected on the last day of each quarter. The latest published information shows that as at the 31 March 2011 there were no children recorded as being in detention. The table below shows the number of children entering detention, held solely under Immigration Act powers, by month, January to May 2011. Read more

Barnardo’s; 5 year old child frisked; Jimmy Mubenga’s death

Barnardo’s will pull out of a deal to run services at the government’s pre-departure accommodation (PDA) centre for failed asylum seekers if children and families are not treated properly, the charity’s chief has said.

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/Social_Care/article/1079058/Barnardos-affirms-commitment-failed-asylum-seekers-welfare/ Read more

Demonstration at Barnardo’s Head Office 6 June 2011

On the afternoon of the 6th activists visited Barnado’s HQ in Barkingside Essex to protest against their involvement with the UK Border Agency. Campaigners gave out leaflets informing Barnado’s staff of the work that Barnado’s will be doing at the soon-to-be-opened “pre-departure accommodation facility” near Gatwick and urging them to express their concerns about this to Barnado’s management.

London NoBorders, 6 June 2011

Glasgow Family Returns Project scrapped

A pilot scheme to ‘manage the return of failed asylum seeking families who had exhausted all appeal rights without using detention’ has been evaluated and found to have failed. The project has now been phased out.

The evaluation report found that, unsurprisingly, families only accepted housing at the scheme because the alternative was detention. Almost all were still fighting for their right to stay, rather than engaging with a ‘voluntary’ return. Many had not actually exhausted their legal claims – meaning that children were being threatened with detention before being appeal rights exhausted. Those that had been fully refused did not accept the decisions. Again, this is hardly surprising, given the notorious decision-making process and cynical culture of disbelief at the Home Office.

report available here at the UKBA website

« Previous Page — Next Page »