Immigration: Harmondsworth Debate

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Department: Home Office

Immigration: Harmondsworth

Lord Trimble Excerpts
Thursday 3rd March 2016

(8 years, 9 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Bates Portrait Lord Bates
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The report by the inspectorate was very serious and disappointing. Stephen Shaw made 58 recommendations, 50 of which were accepted immediately. James Brokenshire set out in a Written Ministerial Statement on 14 January the Government’s plans to deal with that, and already we have posted a service improvement plan—what we are going to do to address the very points mentioned in the report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons. We will continue to monitor that progress.

Lord Trimble Portrait Lord Trimble (Con)
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My Lords, have any of those being removed committed offences here or abroad? If so, how many of them?

Lord Bates Portrait Lord Bates
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Currently in the immigration detention estate there are about 2,700 people. Of those, 40% are foreign national offenders. If one then takes into account those who have committed immigration offences, they are the overwhelming majority of all those who are held in detention. They are held in detention as a last resort in exceptional circumstances, just prior to departure.