Prison
Cat IRC Short-Term Holding Facility
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber STHF
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 13 August 2024
The IMB report for North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber STHFs highlights varied conditions across the region's facilities, with particular focus on Swinderby RSTHF. While Swinderby benefits from positive staff-detainee relations and improved facilities, significant concerns persist regarding physical safety during building works, inadequate risk identification processes, and non-compliance with safer detention guidelines. Across all STHFs, the Board criticizes the policy on detainee medication, the unsuitability of some holding rooms, and restricted IMB access to essential documentation.
Positive Findings
The Board observes good staff/detainee relations and a relaxed atmosphere at Swinderby RSTHF, with detainees reporting fair and decent treatment. Healthcare provision at Swinderby is without concern. Facilities have improved with better furnishings and leisure provisions, including an expanded dining area which was a previous recommendation. There has been better, though inconsistent, evidencing of care and welfare checks in other STHFs, and a reduction in night moves and transfers to police stations.
Key Concerns
Safety
Significant concerns about the physical safety of the facility, including the deteriorating floor (which caused an accident) and fire risks. The Board questioned the decision to keep the centre open during the ten-week period of floor works, noting potential compromises to safety.
Safety
Repeated
Reception interview arrangements are inadequate for identifying risk and vulnerabilities, particularly for sensitive issues like PTSD, sexual abuse, modern slavery, or other exploitation. These interviews are conducted in an open area, lacking privacy and confidentiality, which compromises their effectiveness.
Mental Health
Many requirements of the Detention Services Order covering ACDT (Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork) are not in place within Swinderby RSTHF, including a local strategy for prevention of self-harm, a formal Safer Detention team, and monthly multi-disciplinary meetings. This raises concerns about a lack of vigilance in identifying detainees at risk of self-harm or suicide.
Healthcare
Repeated
The Home Office policy requiring any prescribed medicines to be confiscated from a detained person, and not allowing them to take regular doses, is viewed by the Board as inhumane, dangerous, and wrong.
Estate/Conditions
Ongoing poor suitability of facilities at Leeds Bradford Airport and the Port of Hull for immigration detention. These facilities are limited to small interview rooms and are not considered fit for stays of up to 24 hours.
Food/Catering
The inability to provide any form of hot food to people detained in Border Force-managed STHFs, sometimes for many hours, particularly for those who have undertaken long journeys.
Other
Recent restrictions to the IMB's access to full port case files (e.g., minute sheets, IS81s) in port and airport STHFs hinder the Board's ability to adequately discharge its monitoring duties and confirm lawfulness of detention and welfare checks.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The Board heard concerns about unacceptable staff attitudes and behaviour, questioning the effectiveness and trust in whistleblowing systems. While staff visibility and ratios are high, the Board is not assured that robust systems are in place to prevent unacceptable conduct. A staff survey conducted in March/April 2023 had delayed results, and the survey itself did not measure trust in whistleblowing processes.
Healthcare
Swinderby RSTHF provides 24/7 general nurse, GP, mental health, and pharmaceutical support, with no reported concerns from the Board. However, other STHFs lack specific healthcare provision, relying on external NHS facilities. The Board remains concerned by the Home Office policy requiring confiscation of prescribed medication, deeming it inhumane and dangerous. The low number of Rule 32 health/suicide risk cases also raises concerns about potential under-identification of vulnerable individuals.
Regime & Daily Life
Major floor replacement works caused significant disruption at Swinderby, leading to reduced facilities and the centre operating in breach of STHF rules due to a 13-day internet outage. Despite this, detainees are generally kept informed about transfer/removal plans. However, issues with onward transport availability can result in unnecessarily long stays in other STHFs, and charter flight interpretation services were deemed inadequate.
Recommendations (17)
Home Office: 10
Other: 7
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We repeat our recommendation that the policy be immediately revised to allow staff in STHFs to permit the person detained to take a required dose at intervals as per the prescription or pharmaceutical product recommendations. We judge that permitting single doses is important for preventing any risk of health deterioration and for being fair and humane, while minimising any adverse risk.
Home Office
Healthcare
Response
The Home Office has now appointed a specialist supplier to carry out a national Health Needs Assessment (HNA) of all Non-Residential STHFs (Holding Rooms)… Once completed, further work will begin to evaluate these options to procure a service, or services that meet the requirements of the population and achieves value for money.
Recommendation 2
The Board recommends the examination and review of the low number of Rule 32/35 risk to health and risk of suicide cases, in order to check that the low number of cases is not indicative of the process failing to be used as it should be to identify those facing a deterioration of their health in detention and those at risk of suicide.
Home Office
Mental Health
Recommendation 3
We recommend the STHF rules be amended to place a maximum limit of 12 hours at these and similar locations.
Home Office
Regime
Recommendation 4
We recommend that Border Force provide IMB access to port case files with immediate effect, which would restore our access to records and documents to the fully transparent arrangement that had existed for our Board prior to late 2023.
Home Office
Oversight
Recommendation 5
Repeated
We repeat our recommendation that use of police stations for immigration detention is kept to an absolute minimum. Greater efforts should be made to secure places in RSTHFs or elsewhere in the immigration detention estate to process cases where overnight or longer stays are necessary.
Home Office
Regime
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We repeat our recommendation that Border Force staff at STHFs ensure that all ongoing care and welfare checks on detained people are fully and properly recorded on the annex A form in the port case file.
Home Office
Other
Recommendation 7
We recommend that hot food and drink provision be reinstated at all STHFs as soon as possible.
Home Office
Food
Recommendation 8
We recommend a clear timetable be established for the completion of the telecoms infrastructure serving the facility.
Home Office
Estate
Recommendation 9
We recommend the Home Office, in conjunction with the facility contractor, review the official capacities in line with standards such as the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on appropriate minimum workspace standards.
Home Office
Overcrowding
Recommendation 10
We recommend that Swinderby RSTHF centre management and the Home Office contract compliance team review existing processes around staff culture, professional standards and whistle blowing to ensure they are sufficient, effective and robust.
Other
(other)
Staffing
Recommendation 11
We recommend that Swinderby RSTHF urgently reviews the requirements of the Detention Services Order covering ACDT (DSO 01/2022 Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork/ACDT, October 2022) and implements the safer detention practices contained therein within the centre.
Other
(other)
Mental Health
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We repeat the recommendation that all arrival interviews should be conducted in the purpose-built interview room in the facility, with privacy and with participants seated in comfort and speaking at eye level. For the reasons outlined in the evidence section (see section 4.1.1) we do not regard the ‘partial acceptance’ of this recommendation last year – namely by offering a choice of private interview room - as adequate.
Other
(other)
Safety
Recommendation 13
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We recommend that these interviews be conducted in a confidential space with more time and care taken to build trust and thereby encourage full disclosure.
Other
(other)
Safety
Recommendation 14
We recommend that the Contractor and Compliance Officer at Swinderby RSTHF review fire safety arrangements in light of the Board’s concerns about possible risks that have arisen during the reporting period (see sections on floor works and unlocking of fire evacuation doors).
Other
(other)
Safety
Recommendation 15
We recommend that the Home Office and Contractor undertake a review of learning from the floor works project. The review should incorporate the many concerns identified in this report, including a breach of STHF rules, The content and results of that review should be shared with the Board.
Other
(other)
Estate
Recommendation 16
We recommend that monthly or quarterly data be provided to the Board by the Home Office Compliance Officer to evidence either the presence of interpreters in the charter flight escort teams attending at Swinderby RSTHF, or the use of Big Word in cases where an interpreter is not present.
Home Office
Other
Recommendation 17
We ask for confirmation that the proposed actions on yellow hatching and pre-departure risk assessments have been implemented and are working satisfactorily (see section 4.2.1).
Other
(other)
Safety