Immigration: Detention of Children

Debate between Baroness Neville-Jones and Lord Bishop of Liverpool

Wednesday 2nd June 2010 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Liverpool]

My Lords, will the Minister confirm that this is the only category of children who can be detained indefinitely without the oversight of the courts and without ever having committed a crime?

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

That is the formal case. However, in current circumstances, the average time for which children are being detained is only about 11 days. We are trying to bring that figure down. I pay tribute to the previous Government who did great work in bringing the timescale of these detentions down. I entirely agree that it is a problem. We are trying to make the system as humane as possible.