In a new report the Joint Committee on Human Rights has described the current immigration detention system as “unfair” and in need of reform.
WHAT IS THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS?
The Joint Committee on Human Rights (“JCHR”) is a cross-party mix of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The current chair is the Labour MP Harriet Harman.
The JCHR considers matters relating to human rights in the UK. The JCHR’s work includes scrutinising every law proposed by the government for its compatibility with human rights and assessing the government’s response to court judgments concerning human rights. The JCHR also conducts its own inquiries, like this one (the “Report”).
WHAT IS THE CURRENT IMMIGRATION DETENTION SYSTEM LIKE?
In the UK, Home Office immigration officers may detain anyone subject to immigration control. The decision to detain is made by one immigration officer, and is not automatically subject to independent review. There is no time limit on the length of immigration detention, and detainees have no idea how long their detention will last upon entering the system.
The UK has eight detention centres and two “short-term holding facilities” where detainees can stay for up to a week. One of the centres is run by Her Majesty’s Prison Service with the rest contracted out to G4S, Mitie, Serco and the GEO Group.
Conditions within detention centres vary. The Report describes a “lack of certainty and hope” in “prison-like conditions”, with inadequate safeguarding of vulnerable people. A 2017 investigation by the BBC’s Panorama programme revealed centre staff “mocking, abusing and assaulting” detainees. Detainees also face difficulties in accessing legal advice and thus challenging their detention.
According to Home Office figures, it costs £85.97 per day to keep an individual in detention. The annual detention costs for the year ending March 2018 were £108 million. This is not inclusive of administrative costs or the cost of compensation for unlawful detention paid by the government, which was in excess of £3 million in the financial year 2016 – 2017.
On average 27,000 people enter the immigration detention estate each year. In the third quarter of 2018, 5,949 individuals left detention. Of these, 50 had spent over a year in detention.
| Number of days | Number of people | % |
| 7 days or less | 2,346 | 39% |
| 8 to 14 days | 895 | 15% |
| 15 to 28 days | 971 | 16% |
| 29 days to less than 2 months | 771 | 13% |
| 2 months to less than 4 months | 511 | 9% |
| 4 months to less than 6 months | 226 | 4% |
| 6 months to less than 12 months | 179 | 3% |
| 12 months or more | 50 | 1% |
| Total leaving detention | 5,949 | 100% |
WHAT DOES THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS RECOMMEND?
The Report makes five key proposals:
INDEPENDENT DECISION MAKING
Reviews of detention are currently undertaken by the Home Office, the same department that makes the initial decision to detain, and which progresses removals and deportation. This is akin to the police conducting criminal trials, appeals and the administration of sentencing. The Report recommends that the Home Office should conduct a pilot where an independent body must give prior authorisation for planned detentions.
The current lack of rigour in detention decisions is evidenced by the amounts spent on compensation for wrongful detentions and the series of mistakes accepted by the Home Office in detention cases.
Joint Committee on Human Rights, Immigration Detention (Committee Report, HC 1484, 2019) 3.
Moreover, the Report is adamant that immigration detainees should not have fewer safeguards than those applicable in the criminal justice system. The decision on whether to continue detention should be made by an independent judge and should be required for any detention beyond 72 hours.
A TIME LIMIT ON DETENTION
The UK is the only country in Europe that does not impose time limits on immigration detention. The Report recommends a time limit of 28 days, to be extended by up to a further 28 days in exceptional cases by application to an independent judge.
ACCESS TO LEGAL ADVICE
Immigration detainees should have better and more consistent access to legal advice to challenge their detention.
Moreover, the Report states that there is an “urgent need” for immigration legislation to be reviewed as it is too complex. The JCHR recommends that the Law Commission should be tasked with simplifying and codifying the law on immigration.
VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS
The Report recommends that more be done to identify vulnerable detainees and treat them appropriately.
DETENTION CONDITIONS
The Report recommends that the Home Office should give serious consideration to improving its oversight and assurance mechanisms to ensure that any ill-treatment or abuse is found out immediately and addressed. Additionally, the Report states that more needs to be done to make detention centres less prison-like.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Once a JCHR report is published the government normally makes a response, either by publishing the report itself as a Command Paper or by sending a memorandum to the JCHR. It is the government’s policy to reply within two months of the publication of a report where possible.
Government-commissioned reviews have been consistently scathing of immigration detention, the first of which concluded that “detention in and of itself undermines welfare and contributes to vulnerability.” The Report is a long overdue cross-bench condemnation of the barbaric practice. Hopefully the Report will provide the impetus required for MPs to remedy the UK’s status as an outlier in this field.
If you would like to add your voice to the call for an end to indefinite detention, here’s a petition for you to sign: https://liberty.e-activist.com/page/15505/petition/1?ea.tracking.id=IDPCampaignPage
Freedom of Dissenters 