UK Borders Bill

I was talking about whether case workers and case owners were trained, and certainly they do receive training. I was not referring directly to healthcare staff. However, I accept that training is an issue and we are clear that we need to make improvements in the quality of the training. We have had the benefit of the chief inspector’s report and no doubt that will inform the way in which we approach this issue in the future. The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, asked more specifically about specialised training. As part of their training, Border and Immigration Agency case workers dealing with the backlog of outstanding asylum claims in the case resolution directorate and case owners dealing with cases under new asylum procedures receive instructions on dealing sensitively with asylum applicants who make claims of torture and rape. That is dealt with in the foundation training programme for case owners dealing with cases under the new asylum model procedures. It is there at an early stage and there is a specific element within the interview skills module. It is an important element of the training programme. The noble Baroness also asked about the competence of removal centre doctors and addressed the question of whether they are required to assess allegations of torture and whether they are competent to do so. That issue is also of interest to the noble Lord, Lord Avebury. Removal centre doctors are not expected to assess torture allegations, nor could it be fairly argued that they are competent to do so; they are merely required to report concerns that a person may have been a victim of torture. Those concerns may arise from their own observation or examination of the individual, they may be based on allegations made by the individual concerned, or they may be based on a combination of those circumstances. We are exploring the possibility of providing some further training to removal centre doctors on identifying victims of torture, but it is not an easy field and there are no easy answers in terms of improving the quality of understanding on those issues, as I am sure Members of the Committee can appreciate. The noble Lord, Lord Hylton, asked whether the Government would investigate all cases of those detained for over one month. All cases are already kept under regular review at successively higher levels within the Border and Immigration Agency. Detention lasts for no longer than is necessary and is not prolonged unduly. Individuals may apply for bail at any point and may challenge the lawfulness of detention through the process of judicial review and habeas corpus. Questions have generally been raised, although I am not quite sure who by, about how many torture allegation reports have been sent to the Border and Immigration Agency. The data I have are from January 2007 to the end of last June and show that some 703 reports were referred to the BIA. Central records were not maintained before that time, when the standardised reporting form was introduced. For that reason I am afraid figures for 2006 are not available. Case workers have instructions to consider the reports in terms of any asylum claim and the appropriateness of continued detention, as I explained earlier. They also provide acknowledgment of receipt to the removal centre doctor.