Children entering detention under Immigration Act powers

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.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/children-entering-detention-under-immigration-act-powers