The Home Office have announced plans for an immigration holding facility near Glasgow Airport.
The new, smaller unit will replace Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre near Strathaven in South Lanarkshire after it was announced there are plans to close it.
The Dungavel facility, opened in 2001, is the only one of its kind in Scotland. It can hold up to 249 detainees, but is currently under used due to its remote location.
Plans for the new 51-bed centre on Abbotsinch Road, beside Glasgow Airport, will need approval from Renfrewshire Council.
The Home Office said that the “vast majority” of stays there would be for less than a week.
Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill said: “We keep our detention estate under constant review to ensure we have the right resources in the right places.
“The new short-term holding facility would provide easy access to London airports, from where most removals take place, meaning those with no right to be in the UK can be removed with less delay.
“Closing Dungavel immigration removal centre as a consequence fits with that approach and will result in a significant saving for the public purse.”
The Scottish government has welcomed the closure of Dungavel but questioned the purpose of the new facility in Renfrewshire.
Gavin Newlands, who’s constituency area covers the new unit in Paisley & Renfrewshire North said: “The SNP has long campaigned for the closure of the Dungavel detention centre and cautiously welcomes the UK government decision to finally close it as the practices that have been allowed to take place at the centre – including the detention of children – are inhumane, unfair and proven to be ineffective.
“However, I have contacted the UK Government’s Immigration Minister, Robert Goodwill MP, to request an urgent meeting to seek assurances on these practices and the proposed centre’s impact on Renfrewshire. There will be a lot of interest in what this new facility will mean and it’s vitally important that we get as much detail as possible.
“This new short-term facility, if built, could allow moving detainees to centres in England that allow long-term detention. This would move them far away from their friends and legal advisors to a jurisdiction where access to justice is severely impeded by a very limited legal aid regime.
“The vast majority of people, including women and children, held in these facilities are not criminals but the system and the facilities effectively treat them as such.
“I myself have visited the Colnbrook detention centre at Heathrow Airport and would be concerned that any new centre would be designed, built and run in a similar fashion to Colnbrook where mental health problems are rife.
“I will of course keep local constituents updated on any developments.
MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South Mhairi Black who constituency neighbours Paisley said: “We in the SNP have been calling for the closure of Dungavel Detention Centre for a long time, as well as an end to the detention of children.
“Since being elected, I have been contacted by a number of constituents who feel very strongly that Dungavel should be closed and have actively campaigned for this to happen. I am glad to see that their efforts have been rewarded.
“Moving the facility does not come near to what we hoped to achieve, but instead gives the Government easier access to international airports to continue their cruel policy of forced removal.”
Communities Secretary Angela Constance said: “The Scottish government has long campaigned for the replacement of Dungavel with a more humane system, however, by introducing a rapid removal facility there is a real risk that people who have been living in Scotland will either have their opportunities to challenge their deportation restricted or be taken to immigration removal centres far away from their families, friends and legal representation.
“This move could make it considerably more difficult for them to pursue their cases and have serious impacts on their mental health.
“We will be seeking urgent clarification from the UK government on their proposals and guarantees around the way in which asylum seekers based in Scotland facing deportation will be treated.”
Councillor Kenny MacLaren, Depute Leader of Renfrewshire SNP Council Group and local councillor for the area where the new centre is proposed to be built, said: “I welcome the closure of Dungavel. There has been a long running campaign to close this centre which has been criticised by many for treating the detainees like prisoners.
“However, I have concerns about the proposal from the UK Tory Government to build a replacement centre within my ward, at Abbotsinch Road, beside the Airport.
“Simply moving the centre doesn’t address the concerns of many campaigners about the inhuman treatment that detainees have received at Dungavel.
“There is a danger that a new centre so close to the airport will result in rapid transfer of detainees, moving them further away from their families, friends and communities and making it harder for them to challenge their deportation.
“There are concerns that the current process creates a lot stress on detainees and has a serious impact on their mental health. Simply moving the centre from Dungavel to Paisley doesn’t address these issues.
“What we need is a compassionate system that treats people as human beings. I have a serious concern that this new facility will be used to move people more rapidly, taking them away from the local support they may have and putting more pressure on them.
“There is also a serious logistical problem for the Airport if this new facility attracts the same level of public outcry and demonstrations that have happened at Dungavel. This could have serious implications not just on the operation of the Airport but also on surrounding roads.”