Letter from Melanie Johnson (Safeguarding Co-ordinator, Detention Service, UKBA) summarising UKBA's response to the Home Affairs committee report on immigration detention of children.

28/01/10

 

"Dear all,

I am writing to you today to let you know that the Government has considered the report and has now published its response, in which it welcomes the support for the principles behind detention. You can read this response by following this link:

In very brief summary the Committee said it could not see how the UKBA could fulfil its role without at times having recourse to detention. It said that detention should always be for the shortest period necessary. It acknowledged the problems caused by spurious appeals and said that the more quickly the correct decision was reached in each case the better it was for all concerned.
 
The Government response sets out the case for detention, and emphasises that voluntary return is always what it prefers and that detention is used as a last resort. In its response the Government has also described how it makes arrangements for the welfare of children in detention and confirms that this is a priority for UKBA.

I hope that you will find both the report and the Government response helpful, if you have any questions, please do get in touch with me.

Yours Sincerely"