Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many pregnant women are held in immigration detention.

James Brokenshire

If a pregnant woman chooses to inform the Home Office of her pregnancy, the detail would be held on her medical file which is a confidential record between patient and doctor. The Home Office does not collate this information centrally.

Care provided to pregnant women in detention is appropriate to their individual circumstances and all detainees have access to healthcare facilities and medical advice at all times.

Pregnant women are only detained in exceptional circumstances where their removal is imminent and medical advice does not suggest that the baby is due before the woman’s expected removal date. Women who are less than 24 weeks pregnant may also be detained as part of the asylum fast track process.