Written question asked by Alistair Burt (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 12 May 2006. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 November 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Yarl's Wood

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pregnant women held at Yarl’s Wood are fast track cases; how many pregnant women detained there between 1 April 2004 and 31 January 2006 were fast track cases; how many of these reached 24 weeks of pregnancy while detained; and what procedures were followed in reviewing (a) the need for and (b) the conditions of their detention at this stage.

Answer: There is at present one pregnant woman in the Fast track process who is detained at Yarl’s Wood. The Fast Track process has only been in existence since nine May 2005.We do not keep historical information purely on the basis of pregnancy and as such cannot give numbers of those detainees who were pregnant and are no longer in the fast track process.We do not accept women into fast track who are more than 24 weeks pregnant. However, a woman would be released from detention when she reaches 32 weeks pregnant.The detention of each woman is constantly monitored, pregnant or not, including considering the need to detain on the basis of each individual’s case.A pregnant woman has access to full healthcare facilities at Yarl’s Wood. This includes access to a midwife, who oversees the individual’s medical requirements regarding the pregnancy.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 451 c1702-3W;451 c1705W; 70860
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Pregnancy Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre Immigration removal centres
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk