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<p>Home Office statistics on the number of children held in immigration detention
since September 2018 have not yet been published. The next publication: Immigration
Statistics, year ending December 2018 will be released on 29 February 2019 at:</p><p><a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release</a></p><p>Information
on children in detention broken down by quarter, is available in the detention tables
in the latest release of ‘Immigration Statistics, year ending September 2018’, available
from the Home Office website at:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/758249/detention-sep-2018-tables.ods"
target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/758249/detention-sep-2018-tables.ods</a></p><p>The
UK does not operate refugee detention centres and ended the routine detention of children
in 2010 and, in line with the Immigration Act 2014, does not hold unaccompanied children
in immigration removal centres. There remain limited circumstances where unaccompanied
children may be detained for a short period, usually at ports of entry. This will
be done for safeguarding reasons and will be for a very brief period, normally just
a matter of hours, until alternative care arrangements are made. Families with children
intercepted at the border may also be detained very briefly, but the Home Office does
not publish data on children detained at the border.</p><p>Under the Family Returns
Process, which was established in 2011 as an alternative to routine detention in immigration
removal centres, a family with children with no lawful basis of stay in the UK who
fails to comply with Home Office attempts to encourage and support voluntary return
may, as a last resort, be detained at dedicated Pre Departure Accommodation (PDA),
for a short period immediately prior to removal. The operation of the PDA is regulated
by the published PDA Operating Standards. Treatment of children more generally is
also governed by Detention Services Order 19/2012 “Safeguarding Children Policy.”
These documents can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-departure-operating-standards"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-departure-operating-standards</a></p><p><a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/detention-and-escorting-safeguarding-children-policy"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/detention-and-escorting-safeguarding-children-policy</a></p>
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