§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many asylum applicants are accommodated in a centre at Dungavel, Lanarkshire, and how many children are of school-age; whether this is a former prison; whether the residents are allowed out by day; what provision is made for the children's education, and whether this will be improved [HL2491]
§ Lord FilkinDungavel House in Lanarkshire is an immigration removal centre for the detention of individuals held under the Immigration Acts. The facility, formerly HMP Dungavel, was acquired from the Scottish Prison Service in February 2001 and as an immigration detention centre in November of that year. By definition, individuals detained there are held in custody and may not leave the centre.
As at 28 December 2002, the date of the most recent published statistics available, there were 80 individuals recorded as detained at Dungavel, of whom 55 were recorded as having sought asylum at some stage. Those figures are not broken down by age. However, a one-off exercise on 2 April 2003 recorded that there were 21 children detained at Dungavel, of whom 15 were of school age, ie aged 5–16 years.
A programme of individually tailored education, developed with advice from the local education authority, is available to all school age children of family groups detained at Dungavel. The Scottish national curriculum provides the framework on which the education programme is based and it includes classes in subjects such as English, maths, science, food technology and history. Classes in music and art are also provided. We are satisfied that the education programme is sufficient to meet the needs of a constantly changing number of children of variable ages and abilities, most of whom will remain at Dungavel only for a very short period.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the latest figures for the number of asylum applicants held in detention in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and, in each case, how many were held without charge in Her Majesty's prisons. [HL2527]
§ Lord FilkinThe latest available data on the number of persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers relate to 28 December 2002. As at that date 1,145 people were in detention, 795 of whom were recorded as having sought asylum at some stage. The number of those held in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and in Prison Service establishments therein are given in the table. At this date there were no asylum seekers recorded as being in detention in Wales.
73WA
Persons recorded as being in detention solely under Immigration Act Powers as at 28 December 2002, by country of detention.1 All asylum seekers2 Of whom, in Prison Service Establishments England 735 105 Scotland 55 * Northern Ireland 5 5 Total 795 110 1 Figures rounded to nearest five. With * denoting 1 or 2, and excludes persons in dual detention. 2 Persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers who are recorded as having sought asylum at some stage. The routine use of Prison Service accommodation for immigration detaineees ended at the beginning of 2002, but it remains necessary to hold small numbers of detainees in prison for reasons of control and security. The figure of 110 may also include individuals who are held pending deportation after completion of custodial sentences.
Information on Immigration Act detainees as at 29 March 2003 will be published on 30 May 2003 on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate web-site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds./immigrationl.html.