§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what control he has over the recruitment, selection, training and career structure of employees of Securicor Limited who are contracted to escort and detain people held under Immigration Act powers; and whether he is satisfied with the policy of employing a commercial company rather than staff of the prison service for this work.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe answer to the first part of the Question is "none", but Securicor employees engaged on these duties work under the direction of the 533W Immigration Service and are subject to strict rules as to the correct treatment of detainees. There appears to be no strong reason for prison staff to be used.
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans have been made for the provision of special accommodation for the detention of people held under Immigration Act powers within the prison service, or by Securicor Limited, bearing in mind the increase of this section of the prison population during the last three years.
§ Dr. SummerskillThere are no plans at present for any major extension of special accommodation for persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971. The number of such persons held in prison remains a very small proportion of the total prison population.
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Prison Department exercises authority over the decision whether a person held under Immigration Act powers should be detained at Harmondsworth detention centre or at a prison establishment; and on what criteria such a decision is based.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe answer to the first part of the Question is "No". In general, persons who are detained for more than a short time in the course of deportation proceedings or as illegal entrants are detained in a prison or remand centre. Harmondsworth is used mainly for the detention of people who have been refused leave to enter or who are detained pending completion of their examination by an immigration officer. There are sometimes exceptions, principally because of the degree of security the detainee is thought to need.
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to governors of prison establishments concerning the granting or refusal of application for escorted release to people held under Immigration Act powers, in order to enable them to finalise their domestic, commercial or financial affairs before deportation, removal or supervised departure.
§ Dr. SummerskillNone. It is the prisoner's responsibility to make suitable arrangements through relatives, friends or534W agents. Every effort is made to ensure that he is able to communicate with them for this purpose. On rare occasions it may be possible to accede to requests for visits under escort for the purposes mentioned by my hon. Friend but usually there is no reason why the necessary arrangements cannot be made while the person concerned is in prison or after he has left the country.
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions during 1977 he exercised his powers to order temporary release of people detained under Immigration Act powers pending consideration of the substance of cases; on what general criteria such decisions were made; and how many people so released absconded.
§ Dr. SummerskillI regret that the information requested in the first and third part of the Question is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate expense. In general, decisions on temporary release are taken on the basis of the likelihood of absconding and the presence or absence of compassionate considerations.
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current estimated cost of detaining a person under Immigration Act powers at Harmondsworth Detention Centre and at Her Majesty's prison, Pentonville.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe costs of detaining a person at any one establishment are impossible to determine with any degree of precision.