Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people held in indefinite detention in centres in Libya.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the conditions faced by migrants and refugees in Libyan detention centres. We continue to urge the Libyan authorities to pursue alternatives to detention and implement a better functioning migration system that respects human rights. On 18 September, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that more than 2400 refugees and migrants were held in these centres.

The UK has not provided any direct funding to detention centres in Libya. These centres are the responsibility of the Libyan authorities. Any UK assistance in detention centres has been limited to official centres to improve humanitarian conditions, such as improving water, sanitation and hygiene conditions and providing non-food items and emergency food distribution. No funding has been provided to their wider operation, day-to-day operations or management. This humanitarian assistance is part of our wider 'whole of-route' approach to protecting migrants and refugees who are travelling along the Central Mediterranean Route, which also includes work to crack down on people smuggling, support to assisted voluntary returns and intensive work to end the conflict in Libya.