Asylum centres face fresh criticism

Facilities for holding asylum seekers have come under fresh fire from the prisons watchdog.

In the latest in a series of critical reports on such facilities, Anne Owers expressed concern at holding facilities at Gatwick and London City airports, and Dover asylum screening centre.

The chief inspector of prisons said the centres were not suitable for overnight stays and had inadequate facilities.

While all facilities could hold men, women and children they lack any means of proper separation.

None of the centres had adequate child protection arrangements and the one at London City Airport was completely unsuitable for holding children, Tuesday's report added.

In addition, there was a lack of regular visits from healthcare staff, and a lack of training in suicide and self-harm issues.

Complaints procedures were found to be non-existent and record-keeping was irregular, added Owers.

Detainees were also sleeping in inadequate conditions without adequate bedding or heating.

All four sets of facilities are managed by GSL UK Limited.

"We have now inspected several short-term holding facilities, and have noted some important shortcomings," said the watchdog.

"These facilities are not adequate for the length of time some detainees are being held, and we did not find proper child protection procedures in place.

"I hope the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and GSL take our recommendations on board, to ensure safety and decency for all detainees, and minimise the stress and isolation they suffer."

Responding to the report, Home Office minister Tony McNulty said he would consider the recommendations in detail.

"We take the welfare of detainees extremely seriously and as such we recognise that there may be a need to put in place a system of independent monitoring of these short-term detention facilities," he added.

"I am pleased that this report acknowledges that detainees at all four facilities are treated well and with respect by staff.

"Short-term detention is used, for example, when further investigations are made on individuals arriving in the UK.

"The power to detain is an essential part of protecting the integrity of and public confidence in our immigration controls.

"It is important to emphasise that these facilities are non-residential holding rooms and are intended to hold people very briefly - usually for no more than a few hours.

"It will always be the case that we aim to keep the time an individual spends in these facilities to a minimum but with arrivals at ports operating 24 hours a day there is a clear need to use holding rooms during the night."

The minister insisted that children were not at risk of harm in any of the facilities.

"All holding room staff are trained first aiders and have undergone training which includes dealing with incidents of self-harm," he added.

"Systems are in place to ensure medical treatment is available if required but we do not believe regular healthcare visits are appropriate for facilities in which most people are held for a very short period of time.

"Procedures are in place to deal with complaints and work is underway to ensure these are clearly communicated to detainees."