information handed over to home country authorities by deportation escorts

Dear Chris Smith

Thank you for your recent e-mail. Your request is being dealt with under
the terms of the Freedomm of Information Act 2000 and we will respond
shortly.

Kind Regards
UKBA FOI Team

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Dear Mr or Ms Smith

Thank you for your email of 3 October 2008, in which you requested
information about the documents handed over to the receiving authorities
when failed asylum seekers are removed under escort. This falls to be
dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The UK Border Agency's escorts play no part in the decision making
processes and routinely receive no information from the UK Border Agency
relating to a detainee's immigration case history. When an individual is
removed under escort, the escorts would usually hand the authorities in
the receiving country only the individual's travel documentation and,
where relevant, any bio-data in support of his or her nationality or
acceptability in that country.

The exception to this is where the person is removed to a safe third
country under the terms of the Dublin Regulations, where it is assessed
that the asylum claim should properly be addressed in that third
country. In these cases, the escorts hand the third country authorities
a letter confirming transfer of responsibility for the individual's case
to that country.

There is no checklist detailing which papers are to be handed to the
receiving authorities.

In keeping with the spirit and effect of the Freedom of Information Act,
all information is assumed to be releasable to the public unless exempt.
The Department will, therefore, be simultaneously releasing to the public
the information you requested together with any related information that
will provide a key to its wider context.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent
internal review of our handling of your request. Internal review requests
should be submitted within two months of the UK Border Agency sending a
substantive reply to your original request and should be addressed to:

UK Border Agency
Central Freedom of Information Team
11th Floor
Lunar House, Short Corridor
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY

During the independent review the department's handling of your
information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in
providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after
this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the
Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act.

Yours sincerely

Judi Pattinson

HM Inspector, Escorting Contracts Monitoring Team

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