Child detention regulation urged

Children of asylum seekers are held in detention centres like Dungavel

A charity has urged the government to regulate the detention of children in immigration centres.

Save the Children says the number of children detained for immigration control in centres such as Dungavel, in Lanarkshire, is increasing.

It called for children to be held for no longer than seven days after finding that some were detained for 268 days.

The Home Office welcomed the report but claimed few families were detained for more than a few days.

The report is based on 32 cases of children being detained in UK detention centres, either with or separated from their parents.

Limit call

It said the time children were detained varied from seven days to more than 250.

Save the Children said a number of children were detained in the belief that they were adults, but were subsequently found to be under 18.

The report found that up to 2,000 children a year are detained with their families in centres like Dungavel.

Our report shows that children suffer considerable damage to their physical but also their mental health Mike Aaronson Save the Children

Mike Aaronson, UK director of Save the Children, said: "The Home Office would have us believe that this is just a measure of last resort and what our research shows is that this is completely untrue.

"Very often it's actually just a matter of administrative convenience."

Save the Children said there was also concern about the serious effects on those detained.

Mr Aaronson said: "Detention is no place for a child and our report shows that children suffer considerable damage to their physical but also their mental health."

He said the evidence challenged the government's claim that detention affected a small number of children for a short time.

'Rigorous review'

The report calls for a statutory time limit of seven days for the detention of children and a limit on their transfer between detention centres.

It also says legal advice should be made available to all those detained in centres throughout the UK.

The Home Office said it would consider the contents and recommendations of the report before making a more detailed response.

A spokesman said: "We welcome the report, which the Home Office contributed to, as it makes a valuable contribution to an emotive debate.

"Detention of families is kept to a minimum and is subject to frequent and rigorous review.

"Very few families are detained for more than just a few days."