Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 April (HL6835), whether they will consider implementing a maximum length of time for which vulnerable people, including LGBT asylum seekers, can be detained for immigration purposes.

The Government currently has no plans to introduce a maximum time limit on immigration detention, either generally or for particular groups, such as those who identify as LGBT.

A time limit would only encourage individuals, including foreign national offenders who present a risk to the public, to frustrate immigration and asylum procedures until they reach a point at which they would have to be released. This would impact significantly on the Government’s ability to enforce immigration controls and maintain public safety.