Recommendation 28: Address barriers to detainee complaints including fear of repercussions
From The Brook House Inquiry Report, published 19 September 2023.
Recommendation
The Home Office and its contractors operating immigration removal centres must take steps to identify and address the barriers to making complaints that are faced by detained people, including a fear of repercussions. This must include training for staff on their role in enabling detained people to overcome these barriers.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry asked the Home Office to address barriers to detainee complaints and train staff. In a letter of May 2025, quoted in a July 2025 High Court judgment, Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, stated that a 2024 review informed an updated Detention Services Order published in December 2024, introducing simplified complaint forms, clearer signage, quicker translations, and complaints champions (Dame Angela Eagle, May 2025). The letter did not mention staff training or addressing detained people's fear of repercussions (Dame Angela Eagle, May 2025). Earlier, in a January 2025 parliamentary written answer, the Minister reported that the recommendation had been accepted or partially accepted and was due for closure by the end of that month (Dame Angela Eagle response, Jan 2025; Dame Angela Eagle, Jan 2025).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
About this summary
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The record reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
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)
6.9.1. A comprehensive review into complaints, including medical complaints, and whistle blowing processes is being undertaken. This has involved a review of the existing DSOs and improving the visibility of communications about and accessibility to complaints processes within every IRC. Engagement with residents themselves, as well as with the IMB and Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), is also being undertaken to obtain feedback on the existing complaints process. The DSOs will be updated once the review is complete.
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 in progress (22 May 2025)
A comprehensive review into complaints processes, including medical complaints, was undertaken in 2024 and included engagement with individuals in detention and key stakeholders, including the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO). These findings informed the updated DSO on complaint processes, published in December 2024. We have already seen improvement in accessibility to the complaints process for detained individuals, with a simplified DCF9 complaints form and clearer signage across IRCs, evidenced by the 16% increase in complaints received in 2024. The timeliness of complaint responses has improved, and complaint translations are now quicker following the introduction of a centralised tracking database to effectively monitor the languages being translated, with handling times having decreased from 7 to 4 days. We are continuing to drive up the quality of complaint responses, with assurance checks now undertaken on all responses, ensuring they are not issued until they meet satisfactory standards. Regular meetings are undertaken with IRC teams to address concerns regarding the quality of responses, and complaints champions have now been designated to maintain focus and momentum on the importance of both timely and quality responses.
From: R (D1914 and AAA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; R (AVY) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Border Security and Asylum
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 235.
Earlier statement on delivery (1)
Home Office (15 January 2025)
5 (recommendations 5, 11, 27, 28 and 29) due for closure by the end of January 2025
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 5 recommendations it gives a closure date for. The same words are recorded on recommendations 5, 11, 27, 28 and 29.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response, delivery statement