APPENDIX 44
Further supplementary memorandum submitted
by Wackenhut UK Ltd
FAMILY MOVES
You will recall we spoke after the Minister
had given evidence relative to family moves and you asked for
details of more unusual or inhumane occurrences. I am, therefore,
sending you a copy of our papers of an incident where a child,
who had recently undergone a splenectomy and was under continual
medical supervision with tubes and wires coming out of various
parts of his body, was subjected to the ignominy of initial moves
towards deportation.
Letter from Wackenhut to UK Immigration Service
STANDBY/FAMILY MOVES
In recent months, Wackenhut has expressed concerns
with Immigration over standby moves in that they are unpredictable,
time-consuming and sometimes a waste of valuable escorting resources
when the planned move does not take place.
An example of what this means in reality is
provided by two family moves from South Norwood Police station
on 3 March, when Wackenhut were required to supply two crews at
8.30 pm. The intention was to move one of the families to UKDS
Harmondsworth overnight in preparation for a 7.30 am flight the
next day from T4 at Heathrow.
Having arrived at the police station on time,
there was then a four-and-a-half hour wait until the two families
arrived in the same vehicle. When they arrived, an Immigration
Officer advised Wackenhut staff that one detainee, a 12 year old
minor, had been operated on a week previously to have his spleen
removed, but DEPMU were already aware and the move was to go ahead.
However, when the removal papers were served by Immigration, the
minor's mother was crying and said her son needed six months medical
monitoring.
Interestingly, the spleen operation was not
on the risk assessment form or on the IS91, which meant that Wackenhut
were not aware of the full potential and implications of this
move before the families arrived at the police station. Part of
the property loaded on the Wackenhut van was a wheelchair used
by the minor and taking account of his condition, the van he was
in drove at very slow speed to avoid harming him or causing discomfort
through sudden breaking, etc.
Because of the late collection and slow delivery
of the minor's family, DEPMU were contacted and in order to reduce
disruption for them, a decision was made to change the planned
move from (the little that was left of) overnight at UKDS to (await
flight at) Queen's Building Heathrow.
However, when the family arrived at the airport,
the mother produced a letter for the first time to Wackenhut staff
from a consultant at King's College Hospital, verifying that the
minor was not fit to travel and needed regular follow up treatment
in hospital. DEPMU were updated on this and the removal directions
for the family were cancelled. They were later transferred to
Communication House and granted temporary admission as a result
of the minor's medical condition.
There are a number of issues arising from these
two standby moves that you may internally wish to deal with, but
my sole purpose in writing is to highlight that by their very
nature, standby moves are totally unpredictable in terms of time
and outcome; as a result, Wackenhut escorting capability is being
adversely and disproportionately affected and because of this,
we are being prevented from using our resources to best effect
at a time of increased overall demand.
I therefore wish to raise our concerns and flag
up the fact that the time is fast approaching when family standbys,
in their entirety, will need to be subject of discussion with
the authority.
March 2003
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