Detainees held in police cells under Immigration powers

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.029777

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. Per calendar year, from January 2019 up to November 2022, how many people have been held in police cells under immigration powers? As well as providing the total figure, please also provide:
A breakdown by detainee’s nationality
A breakdown by detainee’s gender
A breakdown by detainee’s age in the following categories: under 10, under 16, under 18, 18-75 and over 75
A breakdown of length of time held in a police cell under immigration powers under the following categories: under 24 hours, between 24 and 48 hours, between 48 and 72 hours, over 72 hours
For cases where the detainee was held for over 72 hours, please share how long each person was held in a police cell under immigration powers

2. Per calendar year, from January 2019 up to November 2022, how much money has the force received from the Home Office for holding people in police cells under immigration powers?

3. Please share how much the force currently (as of April 2023) receives from the Home Office per person for each day they are held in police cells under immigration powers.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

These searches successfully located the information relevant to your request. I have attached an excel spreadsheet with the answers to part 1 of your request.

Please note there are separate tabs within the spreadsheet, titled cover sheet, notes and Report 1,2,3,4 and 5. The notes page should be read in conjunction with the data to ensure the report is interpreted correctly.

Q2 - Per calendar year, from January 2019 up to November 2022, how much money has the force received from the Home Office for holding people in police cells under immigration powers?

Description	Customer (Third Party)	Invoice Amount(£) Exe VAT	Start Date	End Date
Charges for housing immigration detainees in MPS Cell Accomodation	Home Office Immigration	£292,983.56	01/11/2018	31/03/2019
		£213,303.88	01/12/2018	30/04/2019
		£343,891.99	01/05/2019	31/03/2020
		£120,392.22	01/04/2020	31/03/2021
		£142,114.34	01/04/2021	31/10/2021
		£188,735.92	01/04/2022	30/09/2022

Please note there is no receipt of payment from October 2022 to date.

Q3 - Please share how much the force currently (as of April 2023) receives from the Home Office per person for each day they are held in police cells under immigration powers?

Please note 22/23 charges are in relation to Feb- Mar 2023 and 23/24 April –March 2024. These charges are subject to annual review.