Written question asked by Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Scotland of Asthal (Labour) on Tuesday, 18 April 2006.

Immigration: Removal Centres

Question: What conclusions they draw from the statistics of self-harm at immigration removal centres given on the Home Office website; and what is their assessment of the variation in the incidence of self-harm between the centres.

Answer: Incidences of self-harm in the removal estate range from the very minor to those more serious attempts which require medical treatment. Detainees who self-harm may be treated within the centre or externally in hospital as appropriate. Most incidences, fortunately, occur at the lower end of the scale. There may be many reasons for the variation in incidences of self-harm between centres—length of stay, size and location of centre, fear of imminent removal and frustration of the removal process. All Detainee Custody Officers in removal centres are trained to the standard delivered within the Prison Service to help identify and prevent suicide and self-harm. They are also trained in accordance with their particular centre’s own suicide and self-harm prevention strategy and procedures. Additionally, notices in various languages are displayed in all centres setting out that, where a detainee has a concern about a fellow detainee, this should be brought to the attention of a member of staff.

Secondary information