The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q3 2015) Contents

3Immigration Enforcement

The Migration Refusal Pool

70.The Migration Refusal Pool (MRP) is a count of records of refusal of leave where the Home Office lacks evidence that the individual concerned has departed from the UK or obtained a separate grant of leave. It started in 2008. Records enter the Migration Refusal Pool as applications are refused or leave expires. Records leave the pool as people leave the UK, either forcibly or voluntarily, are granted leave, or lodge an appeal or a new application. In September 2012, the Home Office contracted Capita to carry out a cleansing operation on the Migration Refusal Pool.

Size of Migration Refusal Pool at end of quarter

At the end of Q3 2015, Capita had assessed 420,400 records. Of these 226,100 had been passed back to the Home Office because there had been a barrier to contact. 89,700 had been confirmed as having departed from the UK.72 Our predecessor Committee has raised concerns about the operation of the Capita contract in previous Reports.73

Worse performance

At the end of Q3 2015, there were 167,975 cases in the Migration Refusal Pool (MRP) up from 157,142 in the previous quarter. This arrested the downward trend in the total number in the MRP since Q2 2013.

Non-compliance notifications

71.The sponsor is obliged to notify Immigration Enforcement when there is a change in the situation of the person they are sponsoring, for example where an international student fails to enrol on a course. The charts below show the number of non-compliance notifications received and the number of such notifications followed-up.

Sponsor notifications regarding potential non-compliance

The majority of non-compliance notifications were in the education sector. 21,748 notifications of potential non-compliance were received in Q3 2015 for Tier 4, up from 13,299 in Q2 2015.
In comparison, there were 8,637 non-compliance notifications in Q3 2015 for Tiers 2 and 5, up from 7,457 in Q2 201574

Sponsor notifications regarding potential non-compliance followed up

Suspensions and revocations

As a result of this activity, licences can be suspended or revoked. In Q3 2015:

227 Tier 2 sponsors had their licences revoked and 217 Tier 2 sponsors had their licences suspended.
24 Tier 4 sponsors had their licences revoked and intention to revoke a licence was applied to 88 Tier 4 sponsors.
8 Tier 5 sponsors had their licences revoked and 9 Tier 5 sponsors had their licences suspended.

Immigration detention and the Shaw Review

72.Immigration detention is the practice of detaining asylum seekers and other migrants for administrative purposes, to enable their claim to be resolved, or their possible removal. We provide a commentary of Q3 immigration detention statistics in the next section.

73.In February 2015, the Home Secretary asked Stephen Shaw, a former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, to conduct a review of the welfare of vulnerable people in detention. The terms of reference said the Home Office wished to review the appropriateness of its policies and practices concerning the welfare of those who have been placed in detention and while being escorted; and that the review should focus on policies applying to those in detention, and not the decision to detain. The aim was to report within six months of the agreed start date.

74.The number of people entering immigration detention has increased each year since 2011. The proportion of people who enter detention and are then removed has fallen from 63% at the beginning of 2010 to 40% in Q3 2015—meaning that less than half of those who enter immigration detention are currently removed from the UK. 80% are detained for less than two months. However, there are over 200 people who have been in detention between one and two years.75 The UK is the only European country that does not have an upper time limit on immigration detention.

75.Stephen Shaw submitted his review to the Home Office in September 2015 and it was published by the Home Office on 14 January 2016. It contained 64 recommendations. These included a list of categories of people who should be presumed unsuitable for detention, such as those suffering serious mental illness, and an absolute exclusion from detention for pregnant women. He did not make a recommendation on an upper time limit but did recommend that the Home Office consider ways of strengthening the legal safeguards against excessive length of detention. Mr Shaw said:

There is too much detention; detention is not a particularly effective means of ensuring that those with no right to remain do in fact leave the UK; and many practices and processes associated with detention are in urgent need of reform.76

Mr Shaw also recommended that the Home Office should draw up plans either to close the pre-departure accommodation at the Cedars near Gatwick Airport, or change its use, because of the very high operating costs and the relative luxury in which detainees are accommodated in this facility.77

76.In response, the Government said that it accepted the “broad thrust” of Mr Shaw’s recommendations, and would proceed on the basis of three priorities:

introduce a new “adult at risk” concept into detention with presumption that those at risk should not be detained,
carry out a detailed mental health needs assessment and develop a mental health action plan alongside the Department of Health and the NHS, and
replace the current detention review process with one that contains a clear impetus towards removal.

In publishing the review, the Minister said this approach should lead to a reduction in the number of those detained and the duration of detention before removal, and that Immigration Enforcement’s Business Plan for 2016–17 would include plans for the future size and shape of the detention estate.78

77.The Minister said that the Government’s timescale was

to publish the adults-at-risk policy by May,
to have a new mechanism in place to approve decisions about who enters immigration detention by the summer,
to have a new team working on detention decisions for those covered by the adults-at-risk policy by the autumn, and
to replace the detention review system with one for removal assessments by the end of 2016.79

78.Mr Shaw told us that he agreed with the priorities outlined by the Government. On the timescale for government action, he thought that the autumn “would be early enough for that” or that a period of about 12 months would be “”a fair one”. 80 Mr Shaw said that addressing the procedure for detention decisions would have the biggest impact upon the numbers in detention.81

79.We support the broad thrust of the Government’s overall approach to implementing the recommendations in the Shaw review. While the Government is proving elusive on which recommendations it agrees with and which it does not, we agree, in principle, on the areas of action it has chosen to pursue: detention reviews, not detaining people at risk, and improving healthcare. The remedial measures set out by the Minister for immigration should, once implemented, greatly reduce the number of people entering detention, and the length of time detainees are held.

80.We support the recommendations of the Shaw review regarding presumptions against detention for vulnerable people. We note that this means people who are vulnerable, and who may have suffered torture, will have to be managed in the community while their claims are considered. The Minister’s statement that the mental health needs assessment and action plan will be carried out together with the Department of Health and NHS is important. Consideration needs to be given to how provision will be made available for such healthcare in the community.

81.In the Government response to this report, the Minister should explain why he could not give this Committee an assurance that he would accept Mr Shaw’s recommendation for an absolute exclusion from detention for pregnant women.

82.We support Stephen Shaw’s recommendation that the Home Office should close the pre-departure accommodation provided at the Cedars near Gatwick Airport, or change its use, so that it provides better value for the taxpayer. We regard the existing level of expenditure per detainee at this facility as outrageous and unsustainable. Mr Shaw referred to the accommodation as “palatial”. It is unacceptable that so much money is being expended on this establishment when the Home Office itself is being squeezed for funds. The Government should set out the cost for creating and maintaining the Cedars to date.

83.Stephen Shaw said it should be possible to see change in the number of people detained and the length of their detention within 12 months, or possibly even by the autumn. The Minister has set out a timescale for the range of actions that he expects to take place as a consequence of the Shaw review. We regularly monitor measures relating to immigration detention, and we will return to the issue of how many people are being detained and the length of time they spend in detention. If we do not see significant progress then we will revisit the issue of a maximum time limit on detention.

Immigration detention statistics

84.In Q3 2015, the average cost per day of holding an individual in immigration detention was £90.82 In 2014, 30,364 people entered immigration detention. Most do not stay very long. The table below shows the number of people in immigration detention since 2009. The number of people held in immigration detention each year has increased since 2011. The proportion of those entering detention who were female has varied between 15% and 19% since 2009.

Number of people in immigration detention, at the end of year

Year	Total	Male	Female
2009	2,595	2,350	245
2010	2,525	2,248	277
2011	2,419	2,178	241
2012	2,685	2,412	273
2013	2,796	2,505	291
2014	3,462	3,135	327

National Statistics, Detention, 26 November 2015 Table dt_13 People in detention by country of nationality, sex, place of detention and age

The following table shows the number of incidents of people entering immigration detention over the last six quarters. The figure of 9,029 entering detention in Q3 2015 is the highest number entering immigration detention since Q1 2009.

Number of people entering immigration detention, by quarter

Quarter	Total	Male	Female
2014 Q1	7,031	5,899	1,132
2014 Q2	6,995	5,877	1,118
2014 Q3	8,341	7,049	1,292
2014 Q4	7,997	6,903	1,094
2015 Q1	7,569	6,530	1,039
2015 Q2	8,146	6,957	1,189
2015 Q3	9,029	7,791	1,238

National Statistics, Detention, 26 November 2015 Table dt_04_q: People entering detention

Proportion of people leaving detention and removed from the UK

Quarter	Detainees	Removed
Quarter	Detainees	Number	Percentage
2014 Q1	6,864	3,985	58%
2014 Q2	6,876	3,855	56%
2014 Q3	8,039	3,957	49%
2014 Q4	7,895	3,876	49%
2015 Q1	7,516	3,760	50%
2015 Q2	8,178	3,966	48%
2015 Q3	8,892	3,565	40%

National Statistics, Detention, 26 November 2015 Table dt_05_q: People leaving detention

Worse performance

The proportion of all those who entered detention and who were then removed from the UK has gradually fallen from 63% in Q1 2010 to 40% in Q3 2015.83 Fewer than half of those people who enter immigration detention are removed from the UK.

Rule 35 reports

85.Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules states that medical practitioners are required to report to the Home Office any detainee whose health is likely to be injuriously affected by detention, and any detainee they are concerned may be a victim of torture. The chart below shows the number of Rule 35 Reports made to the Department since the beginning of 2012.

Number of Rule 35 reports

Number of Rule 35 reports made and the numbers of individuals released as a result

Year	Rule 35 reports made	People released as a result of the Rule 35 report
2012	1179	93	7.75%
2013	1679	146	8.7%
2014	1671	206	12.3%
2015 (Q1, Q2 & Q3)	1484	279	18.8%

Immigration Enforcement data, November 2015, Table Dt_3

Improved performance

The number of Rule 35 Reports peaked in Q3 2015 at 624. This is the highest number since Q1 2012.
In Q3 2015, 121 out of 624 Rule 35 Reports led to the person being released. This is the highest percentage since Q1 2012.
The number of people released as a result of Rule 35 Reports has increased for the last three years.

86.The Rule 35 Reports process was heavily criticised in the Shaw review, and he recommended that the Government immediately consider an alternative to the Rule 35 mechanism. In its response to this report, the Government should set out its response to Stephen Shaw’s specific recommendation on Rule 35.

Children in immigration detention

87.The Coalition Government committed to end the detention of children for immigration purposes. In 2009, over 1,100 children entered immigration detention; in 2010 the number was 436; and in 2014 it was down to 128.84

Worse performance

In Q3 2015, 31 children entered immigration detention. This is an increase on Q3 2014, when 26 children entered detention.
The number of children held over three days had been increasing. In Q4 2014 only 6% of the children leaving immigration detention had been held longer than three days. However, in Q1 2015 this rose to 33%—14 of 43 children being held longer than three days.
In Q3 2015 45% of children (14 out of 31) were held in detention longer than three days.
In Q3 2015, two children were held in detention for 29 days or longer. Previously, no children have been held in detention for 29 days or over since Q4 2014.85

Children leaving immigration detention by length held, those over 3 days

88.In our last report we noted that there had been a sudden increase in the number of children entering detention at the beginning of 2015, and many were being held longer than four days. In its response the Government said that the routine detention of families ended in 2010, but that sometimes they were detained for a short period of time immediately prior to removal, and this should be limited to 72 hours. Detention beyond 72 hours requires Ministerial authority.

Foreign national offenders and ex-foreign national offenders (FNOs)

89.The Government has said it wishes to deport as many FNOs as possible to their home countries. In 2013, the Government produced an Action Plan on FNOs with the aims of increasing removals from 4,600 to 5,600 a year over the following three years, and reducing the number of FNOs in the UK by 2,000 over the same period. In February 2015, the Minister said the Government had removed 5,097 foreign national offenders in the last year.86

Worse performance

It took an average of 165 days to deport an ex-FNO, up from 114 days in Q2 2015
In Q3 2015, 429 ex-FNOs eligible for deportation were released into the community. This is the highest figure since the beginning of 2012.
In Q3 2015, there were 5,267 ex-FNOs living in the community. This is the highest number of ex-FNOs living in the community since 2012.

Improved performance

The percentage of ex-FNOs living in the community for more than 24 months in Q3 2015 was 59%, which is 3% lower than in Q2 2015. This is the lowest figure since early 2012.87

Ex-FNOs living in the community by time since release

Foreign national prisoners

90.In our last report we asked the Government to provide evidence on what action it is taking place to improve the return of FNOs specifically to other EU member states, and to provide the Committee with statistics on the number of successful returns to each EU member state in the last 12 months. The Government response said:

We do not routinely provide data relating to specific countries as publishing such data could result in undermining diplomatic relationships with those countries, particularly where they might have less incentive to co-operate with us.

The response also said that 25,000 foreign criminals have been removed since 2010, and that the removal of EEA foreign offenders increased from 2,306 in 2013–14 to 3,026 in 2014–15.88

Reporting illegal immigration

91.In Q3 2015, the Home Office received over 17,000 pieces of information about illegal activity relating to immigration. The quality of information varies and not all can lead to enforcement action. In Q1 2015, information from the public led to 752 enforcement visits and 220 subsequent removals. In Q2 2015, information led to 1,100 enforcement visits and 292 removals. Mandie Campbell, Director General of the Immigration Enforcement Directorate at the Home Office, told us that the public made nearly 80,000 allegations about immigration matters last year. Of those, a significant proportion were found to be unable to be substantiated but a portion were followed up and investigated, and about 7% of those led to a removal.

92.Our predecessor Committee previously called for more feedback to members of the public who report what they believe to be activities involving illegal migrants. Feedback is seen as important in building confidence in the system. Ms Campbell explained that feedback is given to those who provide contact details and ask to be kept updated, but that it is not possible to provide feedback in many cases because the information is given anonymously.89

93.We remain unconvinced that the process for the general public to report suspected illegal actively relating to immigration is working as effectively as it could when so many reports do not lead to removals. The Government should tell us how many individuals have been arrested as a result of immigration enforcement action, and how many removals resulted from those actions.

Voluntary removals

94. Mandie Campbell was able to provide information on the Voluntary Return Service to facilitate voluntary removals from the UK for people who wish to find a way back to their country of birth. Immigration Enforcement offer surgeries in churches, mosques, gurdwaras and temples, where people can seek advice without fear of being arrested. This has led to 12,000 people leaving the UK willingly in the 12 months up to September 2015.90 We welcome the Voluntary Return Service initiative as a useful additional tool for encouraging removals from the UK. We request that the Government provides quarterly figures on the numbers leaving the UK under this programme, and the main countries of destination for those taking part.

Recent attempts to deport FNOs

95.On 1 February 2016, the High Court ordered a Zimbabwean criminal, Andre Babbage, to be released from detention because there was no prospect of deporting him to Zimbabwe, even though there was a high chance he would reoffend. The FNO does not have a passport nor wish to return to Zimbabwe, so Zimbabwe will not take him back. In another case, the Advocate General of the ECJ has said the UK cannot expel a non-EU national with a criminal record who is a parent of a child who is an EU citizen. The Advocate General’s opinion followed a request from the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal for a ruling on how a criminal record may affect the recognition of a right of residence under EU law. The Minister said the Government was waiting for the final ruling from the ECJ on whether the individual could be deported from the UK.91 The opinion is relevant to two current cases of non-EU citizens facing deportation after serving a prison sentence. Mandie Campbell told us that there were around 950 FNOs being detained in immigration conditions post completion of their custodial sentence, and just under 400 individuals in prison after they have completed their sentence because they are considered too high risk to be moved to an IRC.92

96.The Government should inform us in response to this report how many individuals are in the UK whom the UK would like to deport, whose circumstances reflect the same principles as highlighted by the case of the Zimbabwean Andre Babbage and the Moroccan CS. The Director General of Immigration Enforcement, Mandie Campbell, should note that when called to give evidence to this Committee she should have figures readily available, as her colleague Sarah Rapson has done. This would enable more effective scrutiny of the Immigration Enforcement section, rather than leading to an exchange of correspondence after the session.

72 Immigration enforcement data, Table Post MRP_3

73 For example, see Fifteenth Report of Session 2013–14, The work of the Immigration Directorates (April–September 2013), HC 820, paras 47-52

74 Sponsorship transparency data, November 2015, Table SP6

75 National Statistics, Detention, 26 November 2015

76 Review into the Welfare In Detention Of Vulnerable Persons A report to the Home Office By Stephen Shaw, Cm 9186, January 2016, para 11.1

77 Ibid., Recommendation 5. Q26 9 February 2016

78 Ministerial Statement, Immigration Detention: Vulnerable persons, 14 Jan 2016 Col 26WS

79 Q80 9 February 2016

80 Q10 9 February 2016

81 Q11 9 February 2016

82 Immigration Enforcement Transparency Data November 2015, Table Dt_2, See also Migration Observatory, immigration detention in the UK, February 2015

83 National Statistics, Detention, 26 November 2015 Table dt_05_q: People leaving detention