London, 29 Aug

British Indian Home Office minister Seema Malhotra has stepped in to order the removal of UK government job advertisements for roles such as a balloon craft tutor for illegal migrants while they are being held at a detention centre in London.

After ‘The Sun’ newspaper reported on a number of over 30,000 pounds a year roles being advertised for the Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre (HIRC) on the official “Find A Job” government website, Malhotra said the outsourcing agency contracted by the Home Office had been directed to remove the unnecessary roles.

Mitie, the agency behind the online posts, said they were part of its contractual agreement to meet the physical and mental well-being of the detainees.

“We don’t believe all these roles are necessary and have told the Home Office to speak to Mitie to remove them,” said Malhotra, who is the government’s Immigration Minister.

The "Hospitality and Floristry Tutor" job, which remains on the official website with a closing date for applications as 21 September, lists the responsibilities as proactively promoting, designing and delivering workshops in relevant creative skills including “floristry, cake decorating, balloon craft, arts and craft activities”.

In another post, an HIRC Hairdressing Tutor is being sought for “hair-cutting, dying hair and braiding services ensuring that skills are current and updated in line with industry standards/advances/trends”.

The 'Sun' report attracted attacks from the Opposition Conservative Party, which accused the Labour Party government of failing to get a grip on illegal migration into the country.

“The government has lost the plot. They’re so addicted to providing freebies that they’re even handing them out to foreign criminals when they’re about to be chucked out of the county. It’s insane,” shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told the newspaper.

“Labour are pouring taxpayers’ money into perks when every effort should be on deportations. Hiring gym managers and balloon craft tutors for people who must be deported is indefensible and must be stopped immediately,” added shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

Migrants who have illegally entered the UK and asylum seekers can be detained at removal centres before a scheduled deportation or while their immigration claim is resolved. According to UK Home Office figures, around 1,808 people are currently being held at UK detention centres.

“The impact of these activities was highlighted in the recent HMIP [His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons] report, which said that these provisions contributed to a greater overall focus on helping individuals to manage the stresses of detention,” Mitie, a facilities management company under contract with the Home Office, said in a statement.

Among the other roles advertised for the Heathrow removal centre include a part-time opening for a Hindu Chaplain to “plan, organise, promote, facilitate and deliver opportunities for worship and study for Hindu residents” and “maintain a stock of appropriate Hindu religious artefacts which will allow residents to fully discharge their commitment to their faith”.

Detention Action, an asylum seekers' rights charity in the UK, said the government had a "duty" to provide roles like this.

"The government should only use immigration detention as a last resort, and for the shortest time necessary. They are failing spectacularly on both counts,” said charity director James Wilson.

"In the last year, the Home Office detained thousands of people for months or even years at a time, and more than 60 per cent of them were later released. Until a time limit on detention is introduced, the government has a duty to support the mental health and well-being of the people it detains," he said.