Kindly hosted by the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) and the SOAS Detainee Support Group.

23 people attended ; Medical Justice volunteer doctors and organisations including the Childrens Society, the Immigration Law Practicioners Association (ILPA), SOAS Detainee Support Group, Medecins du Monde, Gatwick Detainee Support Group, the Prisoner Advice Service, the Refugee Council , London No Borders, the Campaign Against Immigration Controls and Lifeline Options Ltd.

Working Group aim ; to influence the draft Immigration Bill due to be put before Parliament next year.

It was decided that the Working Group would focus on improving healthcare provision to immigration detainees and utilising Medical Justice’s special “value-add” ; its evidence of inadequate healthcare to vulnerable detainees, including children.

The following groups / tasks were agreed ;

1. Research sub-group ; collate existing evidence on the failures of healthcare in detention centres from Medical Justice evidence.
2. Healthcare standards & policy framework sub-group ; collate information on existing standards and policy.
3. Document other groups carrying out similar lobbying work.

The initial task is to make a submission to the Joint Committee of Human Rights by their 31st October 2008 deadline.

The Research sub-group will meet on Monday 20th October at 6pm in SOAS and the whole Working Group will meet on Monday 10th November at 6.30pm at SOAS.

Everyone is welcome to the meetings – even if you missed a meeting, it’s still worth joining the Working Group as there will be plenty of future opportunities to influence the Bill, right through into next year.

To get a copy of the minutes of the 7th October 2008 Working Group meeting, please email Ben Silverstone ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), the Convenor of the Working Group, or Emma Ginn ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Please let us know if you would like to be added to the Working Group email distribution list.