§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring takes place and by whom of immigration detainees held in prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [20354]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerThe welfare of immigration detainees held in prisons is monitored by the Prison Service, which reports any matter of concern to the immigration service.
The immigration service regularly reviews the detention of all immigration detainees. The initial decision to detain is taken by an officer of at least chief immigration officer level and is reviewed within 24 hours by an immigration service inspector. Thereafter, detention is reviewed locally at least every seven days. After one month, the case is reviewed at headquarters, and thereafter on a monthly basis at an increasingly senior level, in consultation with the asylum division where there is an outstanding application for asylum.