Call To End Child Refugee Detention

The Scottish Government will today press Westminster for an end to the detention of families with children at Dungavel.

Fiona Hyslop, the education secretary, will set out the SNP administration’s position on asylum, including opposition to dawn raids, in a meeting with Liam Byrne, the Minister of State, at the Home Office.

Immigration is the responsibility of Westminster and lies with the Home Office.

Ms Hyslop will push for alternatives to family detention, currently being piloted in England, to be used in Scotland.

While in opposition, she called for an end to children and families being “locked up” at the Dungavel removal centre in Lanarkshire before being returned to their country of origin.

Yesterday, Ms Hyslop said: “Asylum seekers must be treated fairly and humanely, particularly when children are involved.

“The Scottish Government is opposed to the detention of children at Dungavel and we will be pressing for alternatives being piloted in England to be extended north of the Border.”

The pilot schemes in England are being run in conjunction with non-governmental organisations.

They work with families to help them plan for their return home without needing to detain them in immigration removal centres like Dungavel.

As well as reducing the number of children going into such centres, the scheme is also aimed at increasing the number of families choosing to return home voluntarily.

There are about 1,400 asylum-seeking families in Scotland, with most of them Glasgow-based.