Parliamentary debate on the detention inquiry, 10 September 2015
On Thursday 10 September, MPs will debate the findings of the Detention Inquiry Report. Will your MP be there?
This debate will be the first opportunity MPs have had to discuss the findings of the Detention Inquiry Report since it was published in March 2015.The report, by a cross party group of MPs, argued that immigration detention is expensive, ineffective and unjust and that ‘tinkering’ with the system would not be enough to address these failings. Wholesale reform of the system was necessary and, crucially, there should be a time limit of 28 days. It called for the Government to set up a working group to oversee the implementation of the inquiry’s recommendations.Next Thursday, MPs will debate the following proposal:
‘That this House supports the recommendations of the report of the Joint Inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration, The Use of Immigration Detention in the United Kingdom; has considered the case for reform of immigration detention; and calls on the Government to respond positively to those recommendations.’
It’s important that as many MPs as possible attend the debate and call for reform of the system. You can help to make that happen.Contact your MP and ask them to support the inquiry’s recommendations and attend the debate. You can find out who your MP is and how to contact them here.Scottish Detainee Visitors has produced this briefing focusing on the particular issues for Scotland and concentrating on the situation in Dungavel. It supplements this paper produced by Detention Forum, which describes the background to the debate, the work of the inquiry and the Government response so far.You can use these when you contact your MP. But also tell him or her why immigration detention and the recommendations of the inquiry are important to you.Have you experienced detention? Have you visited someone in detention? Are you at risk of detention? Is someone you know living in fear of being detained? Tell your MP why this matters to you, as their constituent. Bring the issue alive with your own experience.The debate is an important opportunity to keep detention high on the political agenda. Make sure your MP knows you want it there.