CHILDREN IN DETENTION

Early day motion 1845, tabled 17 March 2006 by Neil Gerrard (Labour). Signed by 157 members.

That this House is concerned by the detention of children in UK immigration detention centres as part of the standard immigration procedure; recognises the negative impact on children's mental and physical health and the disruption of their education; welcomes the work conducted by Save the Children, the Refugee Council, Bail for Immigration Detainees, the Scottish Refugee Council and the Welsh Refugee Council to bring an end to this unjust policy; supports their recommendations that children should be treated as children first and foremost and their needs and rights protected; calls for alternatives to detention to be piloted; and urges the Government to make detailed statistics available on an ongoing basis regarding the ages of, and numbers of, children held in detention and the length of time each is held in detention.

Signatures by party: Labour 82, Liberal Democrat 47, Conservative 13, DUP 5, Plaid Cymru 3, Scottish National Party 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Respect 1.