A cross-party panel of parliamentarians will hold an inquiry into the use of immigration detention, it was announced today. The inquiry, which will be chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather, will examine the use of detention in the UK immigration and asylum systems, with a particular focus on the conditions within detention centres, the impact on individual detainees and their families, the wider financial and social consequences, how detention is used in other countries, and the future role of detention within the immigration system.

The inquiry, which will be jointly run by the APPG on Refugees and the APPG on Migration, will hold several oral evidence sessions in parliament. The panel invites written evidence from interested groups and individuals, including those who have experience of being detained for immigration purposes.

The members of the panel are:

• Sarah Teather MP
• Paul Blomfield MP
• David Burrowes MP
• Caroline Spelman MP
• Jon Cruddas MP
• Julian Huppert MP
• Richard Fuller MP
• Baroness Lister
• Baroness Hamwee
• Lord Ramsbotham
• Lord Lloyd of Berwick

Commenting on the launch of the inquiry, panel chair Sarah Teather said:

“I am very pleased that we are launching this inquiry today. In the light of several high profile incidents within detention centres, including sexual abuse and deaths, there is a clear need for parliamentary scrutiny of how and why we detain people for immigration purposes.”

Chair of the APPG on Migration, Paul Blomfield MP, added:

“This is an important issue and this inquiry is very timely. I hope that we will receive evidence from a wide range of individuals and groups, including those who have been detained themselves.”