§ Mr. HollandTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what provisions are made for people applying for asylum whose claims of torture have been substantiated but who are still being kept in detention;
373W(2) if he will make a statement on the criteria used for the detention of children under the Immigration Act powers;
(3) what provisions have been made for children at Harmondsworth and other detention centres;
(4) what provisions are made for pregnant women at Harmondsworth and other detention centres.
§ Mr. RentonAll detention is kept to a minimum. Family groups including children or children travelling alone are detained, like others, only when they are unlikely to respect the terms of temporary admission or until alternative arrangements can be made. In the case of children travelling alone, the practice is for such arrangements to be made through social service departments of local authorities. Both family accommodation and separate rooms under suitable supervision are available.
Medical advice is routinely sought when women are known to be pregnant. Surgeries are held daily at Harmondsworth, and provisions exist for medical consultation there and elsewhere at any time. Female members of staff are specifically entrusted with the care and welfare of women and children.
Where it is found necessary to maintain detention in the case of a person whose claim of torture had been substantiated, medical help is of course available whenever needed, as it is for all detainees.