The government has instructed a contractor, Mitie, to remove job listings from a recruitment website for positions aimed at providing vocational training for detainees at an immigration removal centre near Heathrow Airport. The roles included a “hospitality and floristry tutor,” tasked with teaching skills such as cake decorating and ballooncraft, and a “gym manager,” with an annual salary of approximately £39,000.
Home Office minister Seema Malhotra expressed that the roles deemed unnecessary should be eliminated. It remains unclear which specific jobs will be cut. Despite the directive, some job listings are still accessible on the government’s Find a Job website.
Mitie, a facilities management company responsible for managing the Heathrow immigration removal centre, has agreements with the Home Office to provide various immigration services. The centre consists of the Colnbrook and Harmondsworth facilities, which together accommodate up to 965 residents, making it the largest immigration removal centre in Europe.
Critics, including Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, have voiced concerns about public funds being allocated to these positions instead of focusing on deportations. Philp described the hiring of tutors and gym managers for detainees as “indefensible.”
A report published last year indicated that the conditions at the West London centre were among the worst in the country, noting issues such as drug use and violence. Mitie stated that the services provided aimed to assist detainees in managing the stresses of detention, as mentioned in a recent HMIP report.
Calls have been made by some officials for the reinstatement of roles focused on security and deportation efforts instead of recreational or vocational training positions.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qlxxxpq35o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss