Indefinite and arbitrary detention of stateless persons 25. The UK asserts in the 2014 UPR Mid-Term Report that Government policy on the use of immigration detention complies with its international obligations; that immigration detention is used sparingly and for the shortest time necessary; that alternatives to detention are used wherever possible; and that appropriate safeguards exist for detained persons.56 This is not the reality for some, possibly most, stateless persons detained under immigration powers in the UK.57 26. It is unclear how many stateless persons are detained in the UK or for how long. The published data are flawed and incomplete, as individuals are not usually recorded as stateless when they enter detention unless they have previously been recognised as stateless, nor does the data show the length of detention by nationality (or lack thereof).58 Government officials sometimes wrongly attribute stateless persons a nationality; categorise them as ‘persons with unknown nationality’; make unwarranted guesses regarding alternative places to which a person might be removed when circumstances are such that a reasonable person would consider the person stateless and removal not ‘imminent’. Therefore, the numbers of stateless persons in detention are likely higher than published figures.59 Bearing in mind these limitations, the Government’s published data show that 108 ‘stateless persons’, 37 persons of ‘other or unknown nationality’, and 56 persons from the Occupied Palestinian Territories entered immigration detention in 2015.60 27. Although UK policy requires internal review of continuing detention, in practice, this review is often cursory. Although UK law allows bail applications, in practice, it is sometimes difficult for stateless persons to succeed with bail applications. A successful bail application may require a strong statelessness application, which is difficult to make from detention, especially without legal assistance. Like stateless persons generally, detained stateless persons are ineligible for free legal assistance for statelessness applications. Generally, the only lawyers permitted to represent detained persons under legal aid contracts (for matters in scope of legal aid) are those whose organisation have contracts with a detention centre;61 and such decided a baby was stateless under the Immigration Rules but admissible to Zimbabwe because he could be immediately registered in a non-discretionary procedure; and therefore refusal of leave to remain in the UK was appropriate. 56 See 2014 Mid-Term Report (note 7) 110.111. 57 The majority of stateless persons assisted by Liverpool Law Clinic have been subject to immigration detention at some stage of their stay in the UK, including some persons who had already been determined to be stateless and some Palestinians. 58 The Home Office defines ‘stateless’ under ‘country of nationalities’ within its immigration detention statistics as referring to individuals who are: (1) Kuwaiti Bidoons; or (2) ‘recognised as stateless by UNHCR … under Article 1 of the 1954 Convention’; or (3) ‘stateless on the relevant record held by the Home Office’. Home Office, ‘User Guide to Home Office Immigration Statistics’ (last updated 25 August 2016), https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/547190/user-guideimmigration-statistics.pdf, 18. 59 See also Mapping Statelessness (note 1) 28-60. 60 Home Office, National Statistics ‘Immigration statistics. Detention tables - dt_01 to pr_01. Table dt_04: People entering detention by country of nationality, sex, place of initial detention and age’ (25 February 2016), https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501999/detention-q4-2015tabs.ods. 61 Circumstances in which a solicitor without a detention centre contract can represent a client in detention include: where the solicitor has already done 5 hours’ work when the client is detained and continued representation is in the best interests of client; or where the solicitor has represented a close family member in circumstances relevant to the detained person’s case. 11