APPLICATIONS FOR SUPPORT FROM PEOPLE DETAINED UNDER THE IMMIGRATION ACT 1971
OR WHO HAVE BEEN GRANTED IMMIGRATION BAIL
1.
Purpose and Scope
1.1
The purpose of this instruction is to give caseworkers guidance on the handling of applications
for support from asylum seekers, or their dependants, who are either:
detained solely under immigration powers and have applied for bail; or
have been released from immigration detention on bail and need to seek the permission of the
body which granted bail to change address.
1.2
It is important to bear in mind that the asylum seeker or dependant could be part of an
application for support from a family group. It is possible that not all members of the family will have
been detained or granted immigration bail.
1.3
This instruction does not apply to asylum seekers or their dependants granted bail by the police
in connection with a criminal matter.
1.4
Annex A gives further information on powers of detention and bail.
2.
Role of the caseworker
Registration and Validation
2.1
Applications for support from an asylum seeker or dependant who is detained solely under
immigration bail or released on bail under the Immigration Act 1971, as amended, should be registered
and validated in the usual way. Applications including a request that accommodation be provided must
be treated as Priority 1 cases. Applications for subsistence only support (vouchers only) do not need to
be afforded priority.
Assessment
2.2
Applications for maintenance only from asylum seekers who are currently detained should be
refused on the grounds that they are not destitute, nor likely to become so within 14 days. They should
be advised that they are eligible to reapply for support once they are granted bail. Applications for
maintenance only from those on bail should be considered in line with current instructions.
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2.3
When dealing with applications for support, including accommodation, from those who are
currently detained solely under immigration powers caseworkers should work on the assumption that
bail will be granted. Where there is no documentary evidence that an application for bail has been
lodged caseworkers must satisfy themselves that such an application has been made. Representatives
of asylum seekers applying for bail must provide caseworkers with as many details as possible including
the name, Home Office reference number or bail reference number, date of hearing and location of the
bail hearing centre. Caseworkers must confirm this by telephoning the Immigration Appellate
Authority (IAA), Loughborough Office on 0845 6000877, where the operators will confirm whether a
bail application has been received and entered onto the IAA’s computer database. Applications should
be assessed in line with current instructions. This includes a decision on whether dispersal is
appropriate. The fact that the applicant is either detained or on immigration bail does not, of itself,
prevent dispersal.
Allocation
2.4
Immigration detainees and those on immigration bail are usually required to live at a specified
address. It is vital that we provide an address with a minimum of delay to enable a bail hearing to be
held. Caseworkers within allocation must notify the applicant and, where known, their representative, in
writing of the permanent address we have allocated. Temporary or emergency addresses must not be
used. This is because if the applicant is released to a temporary or emergency address there will be a
need to move them to permanent accommodation which will require a further bail hearing.
2.5
The address must be held for 7 working days to enable the bail hearing to be concluded. Where
the applicant is detained the support package should be forwarded to the detention centre or prison
before the bail hearing takes place with a request that they be handed to the applicant in the event that
they are granted bail. Support packages for those refused bail must be returned to NASS so that the
proposed accommodation can be re-allocated. The application for support should be refused on the
grounds that the applicant is not destitute, nor likely to become so within 14 days.
2.6
If we are notified that bail has been refused solely on the basis that the address is considered
unsuitable consideration should be given to providing an alternative address. The fact that the applicant
was unable to provide sureties living near the dispersal address would not be sufficient to warrant
reconsideration.
Provision of accommodation where one of the family is detained
2.7
There will be cases where we are considering an application for support, including
accommodation, where one or more of the family members is detained. In such cases caseworkers
should ensure that:
(i)
the accommodation provided will be sufficient to accommodate the family members who are
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detained in the event of their being released; and
(ii)
the family is accommodated close to the place where the family members are detained.
The latter requirement is necessary to ensure that we do not commit a breach of the Human Rights Act
1998. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights gives a right to family life. If, as a result of
dispersal, a family is unable to visit one or more of its members who is detained we will be denying them
this right.
2.8
It is recognised that the place where the family members are detained is not in or very close to
a designated dispersal area. Where this is the case accommodation must be obtained for the family as
close to the place of detention as possible. Caseworkers will need to liaise closely with accommodation
section on the provision of suitable accommodation.
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ANNEX A
Powers of detention
1.1
The Immigration Act 1971 (1971 Act), as amended, provides immigration officers with the power
to detain, in certain specified circumstances, those subject to immigration control. Briefly, the powers to
detain are those:
who may be subject to examination by an immigration officer pending examination and pending a
decision to grant or refuse leave to enter;
whose leave to enter has been suspended pending examination and pending a decision on
whether the leave to enter should be cancelled;
who have either been refused leave to enter, had their leave to enter curtailed or served with a
notice of illegal entry pending the giving of removal directions or pending removal in pursuance of
any directions given;
who have been served with a notice that they are in the United Kingdom unlawfully pending the
giving of removal directions or pending removal in pursuance of any directions given;
who have been recommended for deportation by a court who are neither serving a period of
imprisonment nor for the time being released on bail pending a decision on the recommendation;
who have been served with a notice of the intention to deport them; and
who are the subject of a deportation order.
1.2
Ministers have made it clear that detention must be used only as a last resort and, where detention
is necessary, it must be for the shortest possible period.
Alternatives to detention
2.1
The 1971 Act provides immigration officers with the power to use alternatives to detention. The
most common of these is the grant of temporary admission or release.
2.2
Where an immigration officer has decided that detention is appropriate the 1971 Act provides, in
certain circumstances, for the grant of bail.. An application for bail can be made to:
an immigration appeals adjudicator;
an immigration officer not below the rank of chief immigration officer (CIO); or
a police inspector (but only where the person is detained in a police cell).
2.3
The 1971 Act provides that grant of bail can be subject to a number of conditions designed to
ensure that the person complies with the terms of their bail. These conditions include:
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requiring the person to live at a specified address; and
to report at regular intervals to a police or immigration officer.
2.4
In addition CIOs can impose a condition prohibiting the person from taking employment.
2.5
In Scotland all those to be released on bail must enter into a bail bond.
Sureties
3.1
Those granted bail may be required to provide one or more sureties. Sureties may be required to
give a recognisance (a promise), usually monetary. A surety may forfeit this recognisance if the person
bailed does not answer to their bail or otherwise breaks a condition of bail. In certain circumstances the
surety will be required to pay a security before the person can be granted bail.
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