The figures maybe revised in subsequent quarterly immigration publications and should be seen as provisional.
February 2014 (ODS, 9.88KB)
| Children held solely under Immigration Act powers (1), by place of initial location | ||||||||
| and age (2), entering in February 2014 (3)(4)(5) | ||||||||
| Number of children | ||||||||
| Initial location | Under 5 yrs | 5-11 yrs | 12-16 yrs | 17 yrs | Total | |||
| Immigration Removal Centres | ||||||||
| Brook House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Campsfield House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Colnbrook | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Dover | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Dungavel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Harmondsworth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Haslar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Morton Hall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Tinsley House (Family Unit) (6) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Tinsley House (Non Family Unit) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Yarl’s Wood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Short Term Holding Facilities (7) | ||||||||
| Colnbrook Short Term | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Larne House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Pennine House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Pre-Departure Accommodation (6)(8) | ||||||||
| Cedars | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Sub-total children in Cedars and Tinsley House (Family Unit) (6)(8) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
| Sub-total children in other IRC and STHF (7)(9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||
| (1) | Some children may be recorded more than once if, for example, the child has entered on more than one separate occasion in the | |||||||
| time period shown, such as a child who has left detention, but has subsequently been re-detained. | ||||||||
| (2) | Age at the start of their period of detention based on recorded date of birth. Sometimes an individual is detained as an adult and evidence | |||||||
| subsequently emerges that they are under 18 (referred to as “age disputed cases”). These are counted above once their date of birth shows | ||||||||
| that they are a child. | ||||||||
| (3) | Figures may include: children stopped at the border with their families, individuals detained as adults and subsequently accepted as being under 18, | |||||||
| children of a Foreign National Offender under the Early Release Scheme and children being returned under the family returns process after advice | ||||||||
| has been sought from the Independent Family Returns Panel. Further details available in the User Guide to Home Office Immigration Statistics. | ||||||||
| https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/user-guide-to-home-office-immigration-statistics–9 | ||||||||
| (4) | Figures exclude children recorded as enteringpolice cells, Prison Service establishments and short term holding rooms at ports and airports | |||||||
| (for less than 24 hours), those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their dependants. | ||||||||
| (5) | Figures include dependants and may include children detained for less than 24 hours. | |||||||
| (6) | The maximum length of time that families with children under 18 may be held in the family unit at Tinsley House or in pre-departure accommodation | |||||||
| is 72 hours (or 7 days with ministerial approval). | ||||||||
| (7) | Short Term Holding Facilities suitable for up to 7 days detention, excluding police cells and short term holding rooms at ports and airports | |||||||
| (for less than 24 hours). | ||||||||
| (8) | Pre-departure accommodation is used only for families being returned as part of the family returns process and after advice has been sought from | |||||||
| the Independent Family Returns Panel. Introduced in August 2011. | ||||||||
| (9) | IRC = Immigration Removal Centre. STHF = Short-term holding facility. Excludes Tinsley House Family Unit | |||||||
| Monthly children entering detention table | ||||||||
| Background | ||||||||
| In 2010, the Coalition Programme for Government made a commitment to end the detentionof children | ||||||||
| (i.e. persons aged under 18) for immigration purposes. Following a Home Office review, where “detention” was | ||||||||
| defined as the holding of children with families in immigration removal centres such as Yarl’s Wood, on 1 March | ||||||||
| 2011, the Government introduced its new approach to returning families without permission to be in the UK (The | ||||||||
| Family Returns Process). The final stage of this process includes the possibility of requiring families to stay in | ||||||||
| pre-departure accommodation as a last resort if they fail to co-operate with other options to leave the UK. | ||||||||
| For further information see the User Guide to Home Office Immigration Statistics (hyperlink above). | ||||||||
| The Home Office have released National Statistics on adults and children entering detention | ||||||||
| held solely under Immigration Act powers going back to Quarter 1 2009. They have been released | ||||||||
| quarterly and are available in Immigration Statistics, on GOV.UK website | ||||||||
| https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release | ||||||||
| The latest edition current to this release is Immigration Statistics: October – December 2013, | ||||||||
| released on 27 February 2014. Statistics on people entering detention are shown in Tables dt_01 to dt_04_q. | ||||||||
| All the statistics on detention are released quarterly alongside other statistics related to migration to | ||||||||
| allow a more coherent picture of immigration statistics. They cover a wide range of data and avoid confusion | ||||||||
| caused by frequent publications which may give conflicting messages. However, there has been a | ||||||||
| recent increase in public and parliamentary interest in the numbers of children entering detention, held | ||||||||
| solely under Immigration Act powers, as evidenced for example by a greater number of Parliamentary | ||||||||
| Questions and Freedom of Information Act requests on this subject. In order to service this latest | ||||||||
| interest and a desire for more frequent information it was decided to release monthly figures on children | ||||||||
| entering detention, held solely under Immigration Act powers. | ||||||||
| Notes on the table provided | ||||||||
| Figures are likely to be revised in the subsequent Immigration Statistics release following individuals being | ||||||||
| age assessed as either adults or children. Therefore they should be seen as provisional and to be | ||||||||
| superseded by the quarterly figures on children entering detention which will continue to be released | ||||||||
| in Immigration Statistics. | ||||||||