Written question asked by John Bercow (Conservative) on Monday, 24 April 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 26 April 2006. It was answered by Fiona Mactaggart (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 May 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Child Protection

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that detained children within families about whom there are child protection concerns are not removed from the UK until those concerns have been satisfactorily resolved.

Answer: We take the issue of child protection very seriously and we make every effort not to place children at risk. Where there are child protection concerns within a family whom we intend to remove, we would not remove a child with the potentially abusive family member(s). Instead will liaise with the authorities in the receiving country to see if other appropriate care arrangements can be made and to ensure that the appropriate Social Services are aware of any concerns in a particular case.All operational and case working staff involved in the family removal process have been advised that if an officer suspects at any time that a child is or has been the victim of abuse, the police must be alerted immediately. In such cases where a police investigation is ongoing, removal may be stayed pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

Secondary information