Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Carden Excerpts

Monday 20th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sir Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton) (LD)]

7. Whether her Department has commissioned research into alternatives to the use of immigration detention centres.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

17. Whether her Department plans to review the effectiveness of its policy on indefinite detention.

[The Minister for Immigration (Brandon Lewis)]

The alternative to detention is to encourage compliance, thereby leading to fewer illegal migrants in the first place and an increased use of voluntary returns. We will continue to work with partners to ensure we are always exploring the best practice and opportunities in this space.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Christopher Chope—no, sorry, I will come to the hon. Gentleman. My anticipation got ahead of me.

[Dan Carden]

It is completely wrong to say that we do not have indefinite detention. If someone is locked up and not given a timeframe for when they will be released, that is indefinite detention. Will the Minister not take on recommendations from Her Majesty’s inspectorate of prisons, the all-party parliamentary inquiry on detention, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Amnesty International and the Labour party for a statutory requirement of 28 days before release?

[Brandon Lewis]

Detention is an important part of our process and of enabling returns, but we must be clear: to be lawful in this country, detention never lasts longer than is reasonably necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was authorised, which is to return somebody. That is the policy that we run.