§ Ms AbbottTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans Her Majesty's Immigration Service has for equalities training for teams engaged in administrative removals. [58920]
§ Beverley HughesAll immigration officers on general enforcement duties, whether recruited directly or from those already serving at ports of entry, will have received, as part of basic induction training, sessions on the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000. They will also have received sessions on asylum, including the screening of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) video; professional standards; equal opportunities legislation and diversity issues; and the handling of complaints made by members of the public.
In addition, immigration officers selected for arrest teams, in other words, to conduct arrests in the community without police assistance, undergo a police-led training course which is pass or fail, and which includes mandatory sessions on community relations and diversity issues.
We have judged introduction of arrest teams in London a success, and they are being extended nationwide; however, the issue of equal opportunities, community relations and diversity training is regarded as highly important and so the form and content are being kept under close review.