Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2014
Wherever they come from, children ought not to be detained unless as a very last resort. We have seen a significant change in the whole procedure, and it is as a very last resort, under an ensured return process, that children will be held at Cedars for no longer than 72 hours. In look and feel, Cedars could not be further from an immigration removal centre such as existed there in the past. Also, the use of Cedars is the exception; the aim is to encourage and support families to leave voluntarily without the need for enforcement actions.
We have made progress, but undoubtedly there is more work to do both at a UK level and within Scotland. It still takes too long to reach a decision on asylum in many cases and too many people face homelessness. We must continue our proud tradition of providing safe haven to those fleeing war and terror. We must have a system that recognises the trauma that individuals have faced and that is resolute that their future will be brighter. However, getting there requires a journey and a constant evolution of policy and practice to meet new challenges.
I move amendment S4M-10347.2, to leave out from “, and believes that” to “exacerbates” and insert:
“; welcomes the ending of child detention for immigration purposes at Dungavel, and believes that all that can be done should be done to ensure that the system for asylum seekers does not exacerbate”.
15:45Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.