§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Sri Lankan Tamils are being held in(a) detention centres and (b) prisons in the United Kingdom awaiting removal from the UK for immigration offences; and if he will make a statement. [20439]
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§ Angela EagleThe latest available information on persons detained under Immigration Act powers relates to 30 September 2001. The number of Sri Lankans being held in detention centres and prisons as at that date is given in the table.
Place of detention Sri Lankan Immigration Act detainees as at 30 September 20011 Immigration detention centers 10 Dedicated Immigration Service wings2 20 Prison establishments3 20 Total persons detained in detention centres and prisons3 55 1Figures rounded to the nearest five, and may not sum due to rounding. Excludes persons detained at Oakington Reception Centre. 2Persons detained at the dedicated Immigration Service wings at Haslar, Lindholme and Rochester. 3Includes 10 persons detained under dual immigration and other powers. It is not possible to separately identify how many of these persons are Sri Lankan Tamils. Information on how many of these persons were awaiting removal from the United Kingdom for immigration offences on 30 September 2001 is not available and could be obtained only by examining individual case files at disproportionate cost.
Information on Immigration Act detainees as at 31 December 2001 will be published on 28 February 2002 on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html.