Prison
Cat IRC
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Yarl’s Wood
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 7 June 2022
This IMB annual report for Yarl’s Wood IRC covers 2021, a challenging year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the transition to accommodate predominantly male detainees. The Board commends the centre's management for maintaining a safe environment with low Covid-19 cases, high quality healthcare, and generally fair treatment. However, significant concerns remain regarding the identification and support of vulnerable individuals, the clarity of induction for short-stay detainees, and the comprehensive tracking and resolution of complaints.
Positive Findings
The Board applauds the centre’s management for successfully preventing in-centre transmission of Covid-19 and for managing the challenges of transitioning to a predominantly male RSTHF and IRC. Staff are commended for maintaining generally good relationships with detained persons despite difficult circumstances. The Board welcomes improvements in personal information for small boat migrants, enhanced quality of information provided to RSTHF detainees upon release, and better sharing of complaint outcomes. Vigilance in identifying vulnerable persons and minors, as well as excellent healthcare provision, has been maintained.
Key Concerns
Safety
The Board is, however, concerned that whilst the centre is operating as a RSTHF, with large numbers of detained persons passing quickly through the centre, vulnerable adults may not be properly identified and may be released into the community or transferred within the estate without appropriate support.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The Board continues to be concerned about the procedures for the notification, investigation and resolution of complaints. During 2021, feedback to the Board has improved but this has involved considerable effort by the Board’s clerk, and a comprehensive overarching management of all complaints is not observed. The Board continues to be unable to establish if complaints sent to agencies other than Serco and Mitie are properly investigated within the mandated time frame, and whether a reply has been sent to complainants.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The centre continues to witness some difficulty with RSTHF detained persons feeling anxious and sometimes angry at the length of time they have been detained. They have expectations that they will be quickly released and managing these expectations could be improved by explaining to them the process in the centre in a language that they can clearly understand.
Safety
However, higher numbers coming to the centre will make it more challenging to identify people who are vulnerable and at risk. It may also result in more limited communication to the individual detained persons regarding their situation and the support they can get. Language barriers can also isolate individuals, making it difficult for detained persons to express low mood.
Safety
The Board is concerned that victims are not always identified because of the high numbers of men arriving to be processed at the same time, and because the men are moved within days, officers and medical personnel do not have the time to establish the necessary relationship with potential victims. It is therefore likely that the number of referrals does not reflect the number of potential victims.
Equality/Diversity
The Board feels that, at times, the centre has coped less well with language issues. During rota visits, it became clear that a lot of people, particularly the men arriving from the south coast to be detained in the RSTHF did not really understand where they were, why or what would happen to them next. The use of handheld translation devices was trialled, but internet connections in the centre made their use unsatisfactory. Staff had to resort to Google Translate for quick conversations and have had to make greater use of telephonic translation services. The Board questions why information about the procedures they were to experience was not clearly explained to them before they left the south coast and were sent to the centre.
Healthcare
The Board is concerned that RSTHF detained persons released into the community with specialist healthcare needs may sometimes not get the immediate and necessary care that is required.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff are commended for their professional management of the centre's transition and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and large influxes of detainees. Despite the more challenging behaviour of some new arrivals and the short stays of RSTHF detainees, staff maintained generally good relationships. The Board observed no staff-detained person relationship issues during the centre's transition to a predominantly male establishment, and conversations with detainees indicated that most staff were kind and helpful.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) has maintained a high standard, with staffing in mental healthcare consistently good, ensuring timely access to primary and mental healthcare services. GP appointments are often available on a same-day basis, and the overall provision of services is excellent. However, the Board remains concerned that RSTHF detainees with specialist healthcare needs released into the community may not always receive immediate and necessary care.
Regime & Daily Life
The centre implements a shared regime allowing all detained persons access to central activity areas at allocated times, with professional management ensuring men from different units and women are kept apart. IRC-detained men are locked in their rooms at night, while RSTHF-detained men and IRC-detained women have free access within their units. Despite Covid-19 restrictions, access to the gymnasium and exercise facilities was largely maintained. However, several activity areas like arts and crafts, cinema, and cultural kitchen were closed for much of the year due to social distancing requirements.
Recommendations (7)
Home Office: 3
Governor / Director: 3
NHS / Healthcare Provider: 1
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Vulnerable adults continue to be detained. The pilot scheme Community Action Pilot, Action Access exploring alternatives to detention has produced positive results. The Board recommends that the measures undertaken which improved the health and wellbeing outcomes for vulnerable persons are incorporated into case worker detention evaluation and centre operational procedure instructions for these persons.
Home Office
Equality
Response
The minister rejected the Board’s recommendation but advised that a pilot scheme exploring enhanced pre-detention screening, paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic, would be restarted.
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board recommends that a centralised complaints-tracking database is introduced, to ensure that all complaints, regardless of the agency involved, can be shown to have been investigated within the allocated time frame and a reply sent to the complainant. The database should also link the complaint and response correspondence to each case and be accessible to agencies at the centre.
Home Office
Complaints
Response
Last year, the Board recommended that all complaint resolutions be returned to the centre management for their review. This recommendation was rejected but the minister did state that where the complaint was cross-cutting or affected factors relevant to detention and escorting, the Home Office would consider whether and how complaint responses could be shared to ensure best practice and/or individual wellbeing. The Board has seen no evidence that the Home Office has investigated this.
Recommendation 3
Repeated
The Board further recommends the Home Office advises the Board of its consideration of how complaints about agencies other than those at the centre could be shared with the centre to ensure best practice and/or support the wellbeing of individuals.
Home Office
Complaints
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board continues to observe that many detained persons, particularly those detained under RSTHF rules, do not fully understand where they are or what will happen to them and at times have become frustrated about the length of their detention. The Board acknowledges that the large numbers of cross-Channel migrants have presented the centre with many challenges that have been well managed. However, it is imperative to complete the plans to prepare an induction video with a soundtrack in a language that the detained persons understand. This will help mitigate many of the problems that have been observed.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. addressed
The Board recommends that the centre should maintain its vigilance in the identification of vulnerable persons and minors and strictly follow procedures when these persons are released from the centre.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 6
The Board recommends that, where practical, the centre gives the Board good notice of all subject multidisciplinary team meetings so that the Board has the opportunity to attend.
Governor / Director
Board Activity
Recommendation 7
Prev. addressed
The Board recommends that NHFT continues to maintain the excellent staffing levels and services of the last year.
NHS / Healthcare Provider
Healthcare