Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the potential effect of the proposed Immigration (Time Limit on Detention) Bill on (a) the number of people detained under immigration powers and (b) the number of Immigration Removal Centres required in the UK.

This is an internal review designed to inform the Home Secretary’s consideration on the use of immigration detention time limits in other countries.

We are looking closely at the issue of time limits to understand how we can have a detention system that is fair to those who may be detained, upholds our immigration policies, and acts as a deterrent to those who might seek to frustrate those policies. The areas that the Hon. Member refers to will inform our considerations in this regard.