FOI 178-2023 / Feb 2023 / Asylum Seeker Detention
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 178-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 10th February 2023 as follows:
This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding detention in police cells under immigration powers.
Q1. Per calendar year, from 2018 up to and including 2022, how many people have been held in police cells under immigration powers? As well as providing the total figure, please also provide:
Q1a. The number of people detained who were asylum seekers
Q1b. A breakdown by detainee’s country of origin
Q1c. A breakdown by detainee’s gender
Q1d. A breakdown by detainee’s age in the following categories: under 10, under 16, under 18, 18-75 and over 75
Q1e. A breakdown of length of time held in a police cell under immigration powers under the following categories: under 24 hours, between 24 and 48 hours, between 48 and 72 hours, over 72 hours
Q1f. For cases where the detainee was held for over 72 hours, please share how long each person was held in a police cell under immigration powers
Q2. Per calendar year, from 2018 up to and including 2022, how much money has the force received from the Home Office for holding people in police cells under immigration powers?
Q3. Please share how much the force currently (as of 10 February 2023) receives from the Home Office per person for each day they are held in police cells under immigration powers.
I would like to receive this information in an electronic format.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the significant delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that much of the requested information is not centrally recorded and is therefore not held in a readily retrievable format. Whilst there is a report generated for the purpose of reimbursement from the Home Office in relation to detentions under immigration powers, this report does not capture whether an individual is an asylum seeker, or their age and gender. It captures name, date of birth and nationality. In addition, it cannot capture the total time that a detainee is held in a police cell, as this requires a manual calculation in the case of immigration offences. Therefore, in order to determine responses to Q1a, Q1c, Q1d, Q1e, and Q1f, it would be necessary to cross reference and manually review the custody record for each individual detained, to identify their gender, and then to calculate their age and the total time held, as well as reviewing all free text fields for any mention of them being an asylum seeker. The business area has advised that, between 2018 and 2022, there were 544 individuals detained in relation to immigration offences, and, at a conservative estimate of 10 minutes per record to review, this would equate to in excess of 90 hours work. Therefore, this would exceed the cost threshold of £450, which equates to 18 hours work at a standard rate of £25 per hour, as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
In accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter is a Refusal Notice for this part of the request, and, if one part of a request exceeds the fees limit, then Section 12 of the Act applies to the whole request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to refining your request; however, due to the requirement to cross refer and individually examine each record in detail, I am unable to suggest a way to revise the request into one that could be managed within the fees limit.
Regarding Q1b, and your request for a breakdown by detainee’s country of origin, please be advised that this information is not captured, and instead, nationality is recorded.
As a gesture of goodwill, please see the responses to your remaining questions set out below. This information was obtained before it was realised that not all of the requested information could be retrieved in full within the fees limit, and this should not be taken as a precedent that additional information would be supplied outside of the time/fees legislation for any subsequent requests.
Q1 response:
|
Year |
Immigration Detainees |
|
2018 |
128 |
|
2019 |
141 |
|
2020 |
116 |
|
2021 |
85 |
|
2022 |
74 |
|
Grand Total |
544 |
Q2 response: Please be advised that this information is only held by financial year (1st April to 31st March of the following year). During the following financial years, the force reclaimed the stated amounts from the Home Office:
|
Financial Year |
Amount |
|
2018/19 |
36626.01 |
|
2019/20 |
38175.83 |
|
2020/21 |
49767.51 |
|
2021/22 |
45113.08 |
|
Grand Total |
169682.43 |
Q3 response: Initial hour £25.82, additional hours or part thereof £21.08
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB