Recommendation 2: Require IRC contracts to uphold Rule 3 humane detention principles
From The Brook House Inquiry Report, published 19 September 2023.
Recommendation
The Home Office must ensure that each contract for the management of an immigration removal centre must expressly require compliance with the overriding purpose of Rule 3, which is to provide "the secure but humane accommodation of detained persons in a relaxed regime with as much freedom of movement and association as possible, consistent with maintaining a safe and secure environment, and to encourage and assist detained persons to make the most productive use of their time, whilst respecting in particular their dignity and the right to individual expression". The provisions and operation of each contract must be consistent with and uphold the requirements of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy and the safeguards contained in detention services orders (including those concerning the use of force).
In brief (written by this site)
In a May 2025 letter quoted in a High Court judgment, Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, stated that the Home Office partially accepted the recommendation, explaining that each contract to manage an immigration removal centre expressly stipulates compliance with the overriding purpose of Rule 3 and upholds wider detention rules and safeguards (Dame Angela Eagle response, May 2025). Previously, in a January 2025 written parliamentary answer, the Minister reported that the recommendation was "met and closed as of October 2024" (Dame Angela Eagle, Jan 2025).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
We partially accepted the recommendation regarding the compliance of Detention Centre Rule 3 within our IRC contracts. Each contract for the management of an IRC expressly stipulates compliance with the overriding purpose of Rule 3. In addition, the provisions and operation of each contract must be consistent with and uphold the requirements of the wider Detention Centre Rules 2001, the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy and the safeguards contained in Detention Services Orders (DSO).
How this response relates to the recommendation
Site note: These are the words of the letter of 22 May 2025 from the Minister for Border Security and Asylum to Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, as reproduced in the judgment in R (D1914 and AVY) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1853 (Admin). The letter itself is not published: it is on GOV.UK nowhere, was not deposited in Parliament and is not annexed to the judgment, so the judgment is the record that carries it and is the source this row cites. The judgment quotes it on this recommendation at paragraph 135.
Earlier statement from Home Office (1)
6.1.1.The government is committed to addressing the key issues found in the report around the terms and monitoring of contracts, holding the most senior service provider managers to account as well as those delivering services within IRCs. From 2017, following the documentary, the Home Office has recognised deficiencies and significantly invested in the development of new contracts to improve service provision and bolster oversight thereof. These contracts require the implementation of an internal audit programme to monitor both processes within the IRC and compliance with detention centre (DC) rules, detention services operating standards and detention services orders (DSOs) as well as mandating self-reporting by contracted service providers. Key performance indicators (KPIs) relate to operating the required audit arrangements and submitting completed audits to the Home Office, including details of any non-compliance.
6.1.2. Two different Home Office teams operate in each IRC; detention services compliance teams are responsible for all on site contract monitoring. This includes ensuring that contracted service providers are fulfilling their contractual requirements and delivering against KPIs. The teams monitor the services provided, the treatment of detained persons and the condition of the establishment. Detention engagement teams (DETs) are responsible for interacting with those detained on behalf of casework teams and providing updates on case progression. In addition to this oversight and engagement, improvements are being made to the current Detention Services Operations Compliance and Assurance strategy for 2024 onwards to:
define a robust staffing structure for locally embedded Home Office compliance teams and standardise compliance monitoring schedules
provide a clear methodology, ensuring a consistent approach to the monitoring of and adherence to contracts
strengthen consistency between IRCs by standardising processes,sharing best practice and providing a consistent approach across the detention estate with clear reporting and escalation processes
How this response relates to the recommendation
Site note: CP 1041 is organised by ten key issues, not by recommendation, and states no position on any individual recommendation. Its only general statement of acceptance is that "The government has carefully considered and accepts the broad thrust of the recommendations". The words "in principle" do not appear anywhere in the document.
Delivery
Home Office says completed (15 January 2025)
12 recommendations (recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 14, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26) met and closed as of October 2024
Site note: One written answer of 15 January 2025 addresses all 33 recommendations in groups: it names each recommendation in one of four groups and says nothing further about any of them individually. It does not say which of the 30 it describes as "accepted or partially accepted" were accepted in full and which in part.
Site note: The source gives this passage once, for the 12 recommendations it describes as met and closed. The same words are recorded on recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 14, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response, delivery statement