A letter from Immigration Minister Phil Woolas to Pete Wishart MP has revealed that more than 1,300 children were held at UK immigration removal centres during a fifteen-month period. Of those children, 899 had been detained for over twenty-eight days. The letter also said that these figures were not subject to the ‘detailed checks’ usually applied to official statistics.

Mr Wishart has commented that “whatever the position of the parents, children should not be detained behind barbed wire”. He emphasised that the welfare of children should not be compromised, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. These revelations reveal inadequacies in the UK’s protection of children’s rights. Mr Wishart said that “regardless of what provision is being made for children in these centres, that they are being held behind bars is unacceptable”. It has been calculated that the UK government detains “the equivalent of a high school every year across the UK”.

The way in which families are arrested for transfer to such centres is also a cause for concern; as highlighted in a report by the Children’s Commissioner for England from April 2009 entitled “The Arrest and Detention of Children Subject to Immigration Control”. The arrested families are allegedly only given a few minutes to pack up and leave their homes; with some immigration authorities using force to control the children. This has been described as “one of the most de-humanising aspects of the arrest process.” The UK Border Agency hopes to remedy the situation with its introduction of the duty of care to children through the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill. A programme has also been planned to improve the publishing of statistics on people held in detention, with a particular focus on detained children.