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Persons subject to immigration control
120. The detention of persons subject to immigration control is governed by the provisions of the Immigration Act 1971. The power to detain is used as a last resort, when there are clear and positive grounds for believing that the person will abscond if left at liberty, and after all the known circumstances of the person concerned have been taken into account. The cases of those detained are given the highest priority and the need for continued detention is regularly reviewed.
121. In the circumstances described below, a person detained under the provisions of the Immigration Act 1971 may apply to the independent immigration appellate authorities for bail. The appellate authorities were established in 1970 under the Immigration Appeals Act 1969; their function is to hear appeals against decisions of the Secretary of State or an immigration officer, and applications for bail under the provisions of the 1971 Immigration Act (as amended by the Immigration Act 1988). They may allow an appeal if they consider that the decision against which the appeal was brought was not in accordance with the law or, in cases which are not subject to a restriction on the right of appeal (see arts. 12 and 13 below), if they consider that, where the decision involved the exercise of discretion, that discretion should have been exercised differently. The appellate authorities may require sureties to be provided before deciding to release a person on bail and may refuse to release on bail a person who has previously failed to comply with the conditions of bail or is likely to commit an offence if released. There are two tiers of appellate authority, namely, adjudicators, who hear nearly all appeals at first instance, and the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, which hears, with leave, appeals from decisions of adjudicators. The Lord Chancellor's Department has had full administrative responsibility for the appellate authorities since 1987.
122. Persons detained as the subject of deportation proceedings may apply to the independent appellate authorities for bail while an appeal is pending against the decision to make a deportation order, or against the destination on deportation. A person who has a right of appeal while in the United Kingdom against the decision to refuse him leave to enter or against the decision that he requires leave to enter may apply for bail. Those who are detained for more than seven days pending a decision to give or refuse leave to enter the United Kingdom may also apply. In all cases, however, where a person is detained under powers contained in the 1971 Act, habeas corpus may be sought from a court.
123. Advice and assistance in presenting appeals before the independent appellate authorities is available free of charge from the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service (UKIAS), which receives support from public funds but is independent of government control.
124. The numbers detained under deportation and illegal entry powers in the years 1986-1988 are set out below; such statistics are published regularly in the annual reports of the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Department. The large increases in the numbers detained in 1988 reflect the greater number of cases dealt with as a result of more effective enforcement procedures, including the increased use of supervised departures following the new powers in the 1988 Immigration Act (see paras. 187-195 below, particularly para. 189). The great majority of those detained were held for less than a month. There are no statistics specifically on the numbers of detainees who apply for bail.
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