Recommendation 6: Review and reduce cell lock-in periods
From The Brook House Inquiry Report, published 19 September 2023.
Recommendation
The Home Office, in consultation with the contractor responsible for operating each immigration removal centre, must review the current lock-in regime and determine whether the period of time during which detained people are locked in their cells could be reduced. The Inquiry does not consider cost alone to be a sufficient justification for extensive lock-in periods.
In brief (written by this site)
In January 2025, Minister of State Dame Angela Eagle stated in a written parliamentary answer for the Home Office that this recommendation was among twelve "met and closed as of October 2024" (Dame Angela Eagle, Jan 2025). The department had previously reported in its March 2024 response that a new staffing model had embedded a maximum night state of nine hours, limiting the amount of time detained individuals could be locked in their rooms overnight (Home Office response, Mar 2024).
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
30 out of the 33 recommendations made by the Brook House Inquiry have been accepted or partially accepted.
How this response relates to the recommendation
Site note: The written answer gives this sentence once, for 30 of the 33 recommendations together: every recommendation except 7, 19 and 30, which it says were rejected. It does not say which of the 30 were accepted in full and which in part, so the site records "Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)". The same words are recorded on recommendations 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32 and 33. Recommendations 1, 2 and 3 are among the 30 but are not given this row, because the Minister's letter of 22 May 2025 states a position on each of them.
Earlier statement from Home Office (1)
6.3.1. A new staffing model has been developed to deliver a considerably healthier ratio of custodial staff per detained individual to nearly double what it was in 2017. The new model represents an increase in staffing numbers taking account of each IRC’s requirements and layout, and incorporates the lessons learnt from external reports including the Shaw Review (into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons), [footnote 1] His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) reports and the BHI report. It introduced changes to staffing patterns and requirements to deploy staff where they are most needed – supporting detained individuals in their journey through detention. One of the most significant changes affecting staffing levels is a shorter night state, when staffing requirements are reduced, limiting the amount of time a person can be locked in their room overnight to up to a maximum of 9 hours. This 9-hour maximum night state is now embedded.
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