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<p>The petition was received by the Home Office on 8 May, and its contents have been
noted.</p><p>As Stephen Shaw noted in his follow up review of the welfare of vulnerable
people in immigration detention, the debate on a time limit for immigration detention
rests mainly on slogans rather than evidence. The Home Secretary commissioned an internal
review of how time limits work in other countries and how these relate to any other
protections within the detention systems in those countries. This has shown that few
other countries adopt very short time limits and that many countries face similar
challenges to the United Kingdom when it comes to returning those who have no right
to remain but refuse to leave voluntarily.</p><p>No one is detained indefinitely.
Most people detained under immigration powers spend only short periods in detention.
In 2018, 92 per cent of those detained were removed or released from detention within
four months, and 69 per cent in less than 29 days.</p><p>We are continuously seeking
ways to improve the immigration detention system to ensure that it is fair to those
who may be detained, upholds our immigration policies, and acts as a deterrent to
those who might seek to frustrate those policies.</p>
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