Children in asylum seeking families can be detained indefinitely at any stage of their claim to remain in the UK. There are around 40 family places in detention centres (now called 'removal centres') but no routinely available statistics about the number of children detained, at what stage of their case, or for how long. In answer to a recent parliamentary question, the government revealed that there were 56 children in immigration detention on 2nd April 2003. These children are detained under the same criteria as single adults.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/humanRights/events/Bail_Immigration_Detainees.aspx
