Detention timescales

Lack of clear and consistent instructions and guidance regarding timescales for detention, impacting risk management.

395 items 13 sources 2 inquiries
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Where this theme appears

Detention timescales has been flagged across 13 independent accountability sources:

18 inquiry recs 8 PFD reports 9 committee recs 1 CQC action 3 PPO recs 1 IOPC rec 6 IMB reports 266 IMB recs 1 Article 2 learning point 73 detention investigation recs 6 PHSO decisions 2 LGO/SPSO decisions

When the same issue appears across inquiries, coroner reports, and regulators independently, it indicates a recurring issue across the public record.

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Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.

BAHA-35 — Detention Timescales Consistency
Baha Mousa Inquiry
Recommendation: Theatre level detention instructions and guidance should be reviewed to ensure that references to timescales for detention are clear and consistent. Timescales for detention are an important aspect of managing the risk of abuse.
Gov response: Accepted. Detention timescales have been reviewed and made consistent across instructions.
Accepted
10 — Clarify authorisation for Rule 40 and Rule 42 segregation
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must amend, as a matter of urgency, Detention Services Order 02/2017: Removal from Association (Detention Centre Rule 40) and Temporary Confinement (Detention Centre Rule 42) and, if necessary, the Detention Services Operating Standards Manual for Immigration Service …
Gov response: An interim Detention Services Order has been published clarifying Rule 40 (removal from association) and Rule 42 (temporary confinement) authorisation protocols. A substantive DSO revision is underway examining assurance mechanisms, staff training, and compliance auditing.
Response Unclear No update 2+ yrs
25 — Ensure senior manager presence and accessibility to staff
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: Contractors operating immigration removal centres must ensure that senior managers are regularly present and visible within the immigration removal centre and are accessible to more junior detention staff.
Gov response: The government response addressed this under staffing and culture, with contractors required to ensure senior managers are regularly present and visible.
Accepted in Part
24 — Mandatory staff training on mental health and trauma-informed approaches
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office, in conjunction with contractors, must ensure that all relevant immigration removal centre staff receive mandatory introductory and annual training on: mental health; race and diversity; a trauma-informed approach; their own resilience; drug awareness; and the purpose of …
Gov response: The Initial Training Course for all new contractor staff is undergoing a full review covering 'AaR, mental health awareness, racial awareness and safeguarding children', with a mentorship phase and annual refresher training.
Accepted in Part
23 — Quarterly assessment of staffing levels against population needs
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office and contractors operating immigration removal centres must ensure that there is ongoing assessment of staffing levels (at least on a quarterly basis), so that the level of staff present within each centre is appropriate for the size …
Gov response: A new staffing model has been implemented delivering a 'considerably healthier ratio of custodial staff per detained individual to nearly double what it was in 2017'. Contract reviews address safe staffing policies.
Accepted in Part
22 — Update healthcare complaints handling guidance
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must review and update Detention Services Order 03/2015: Handling of Complaints to ensure that appropriate guidance is given to healthcare providers on the investigation and handling of complaints specific to the provision of healthcare in an immigration …
Gov response: A comprehensive review of complaints processes, including medical complaints, is underway. Detention Services Orders are to be updated on completion.
Accepted in Part
21 — Update mental vulnerability and mental capacity DSO guidance
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must review and update Detention Services Order 04/2020: Mental Vulnerability and Immigration Detention: Non-Clinical Guidance to set out comprehensive guidance for detention and healthcare staff where there are concerns that a detained person is suffering mental ill …
Gov response: The government stated it is considering policy on detained people with mental ill health as part of wider work on vulnerable adults, scoping requirements with NHS England.
Accepted in Part In progress
20 — Update guidance on fit to fly and fit for detention medical assessments
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must review and update Detention Services Order 01/2016: The Protection, Use and Sharing of Medical Information Relating to People Detained Under Immigration Powers, to ensure that guidance given to GPs working in the immigration detention estate in …
Gov response: The government acknowledged NHS England's commissioning responsibility. The government stated that fit to fly letters are 'a medico-legal practice' and outside the responsibility of NHS England.
Accepted in Part No update 2+ yrs
19 — Healthcare staff guidance and training on use of force incidents
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must ensure that guidance is issued to healthcare staff in immigration removal centres clarifying their role in use of force incidents. It must liaise as necessary with NHS England and any relevant medical regulators. The Home Office …
Gov response: The government does not accept this recommendation. The government stated that NHS England commissions healthcare services and it is their responsibility, alongside the Care Quality Commission, to assure the quality of health service provision within …
Not Accepted
18 — Update DSO on food and fluid refusal management and reporting
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must, as a matter of urgency, update Detention Services Order 03/2017: Care and Management of Detained Individuals Refusing Food and/or Fluid, to ensure that it deals with: food and fluid refusal being clearly and directly linked to …
Gov response: An updated Detention Services Order on food and fluid refusal has been published, linking food and fluid refusal to consideration of the Rule 35 process and the Adults at Risk policy.
Accepted in Part
17 — Mandatory use of force debrief training and multi-level review process
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must ensure, as a matter of urgency, that training is delivered on how to conduct an effective use of force incident debrief, ensuring that issues of detained person and staff welfare, as well as training needs, are …
Gov response: Training and escalation systems for use of force incidents are referenced in the government response. The Service Improvement Plan references use of force monthly meetings and formal review processes.
Accepted in Part No update 2+ yrs
16 — Independent review of use of force on mentally ill detainees
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must urgently commission an independent review (with the power to make recommendations) of use of force on detained people with mental ill health within immigration removal centres. The review must consider: how, when and whether to use …
Gov response: The government stated it is working with HMPPS, NHS England and DHSC to develop new operational standards for use of force on detained people with mental ill health.
Accepted in Part No update 2+ yrs
15 — New comprehensive use of force detention services order
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must introduce, as a matter of urgency, a new and comprehensive detention services order to address use of force in immigration removal centres. The detention services order must include the following issues: the permissible justifications for the …
Gov response: A new Detention Services Order on use of force is being developed in consultation with experts, alongside an overhaul of assurance processes and a new escalation system.
Accepted in Part No update 2+ yrs
14 — Prohibit handcuffing behind back while seated
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office and contractors operating immigration removal centres must ensure that all staff are aware that the technique of handcuffing detained people with their hands behind their back while seated is not permitted, given its association with positional asphyxia.
Gov response: The government has communicated to all IRC and contracted service provider staff that the technique of handcuffing behind backs whilst seated is not permitted.
Accepted
13 — Quarterly auditing of Rule 40 and Rule 42 use
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must regularly (and at least quarterly) audit the use of Rule 40 and Rule 42 across the immigration detention estate, in order to identify trends, any training needs and required improvements. In addition, HM Inspectorate of Prisons …
Gov response: The DSO revision includes compliance auditing across the detention estate. This recommendation was also directed at HMIP and the IMB Management Board.
Accepted in Part No update 2+ yrs
12 — Annual training on Rule 40 and Rule 42 segregation powers
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office and contractors operating immigration removal centres must provide regular training, at least annually, on the operation of Rule 40 and Rule 42 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, which must include: that Rules 40 and 42 are …
Gov response: The substantive DSO revision on Rule 40/42 includes examination of staff training requirements and compliance auditing.
Accepted in Part No update 2+ yrs
11 — Review E Wing suitability for vulnerable detainees
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office and the current operator of Brook House must keep under review the appropriateness of the multi-purpose use of E Wing, particularly in relation to its suitability as a location to detain vulnerable people.
Gov response: The government stated the multi-purpose use of Eden Wing at Brook House is under consideration, and learning would be applied across the estate.
Accepted in Part
9 — Ensure effective operation and auditing of all Rule 35 limbs
Brook House Inquiry
Recommendation: The Home Office must, across the immigration detention estate, assure itself that all three limbs of Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 (reports by a medical practitioner where: (i) it is likely that a detained person's health would …
Gov response: The detention gatekeeper system reviews suitability for detention. The Adults at Risk in immigration detention policy is in place. A review of the AaR policy and Rules 34 and 35 is underway.
Response Unclear In progress
Billy Paul Thomas Salton
06 Jan 2014 · Manchester (South)
Concerns: GMP policy of not staffing the Prisoner Processing Unit overnight leads to unnecessary and prolonged custody times for individuals awaiting interview.
Response (Medacs): Medacs Healthcare has implemented measures to ensure staff are aware of and have access to Medacs policies and procedures. They are also reviewing the electronic MedacsFME system to include screening …
Response (Greater Manchester Police): Greater Manchester Police acknowledge delays in processing detainees due to staffing limitations. They are currently reviewing roles in custody and looking for a system that matches or improves coverage of …
Overdue
Rubel Ahmed
05 Aug 2015 · Lincolnshire (Central)
Concerns: Detainees were locked in rooms overnight against recommendations, staff lacked robust detention awareness and refresher training, and crucial information like removal directions was not shared.
Response (Home Office): The Home Office acknowledges the concerns regarding the death at Morton Hall IRC. They explain the challenges of unlocking rooms overnight, the existing practices for detention awareness, and the use …
Overdue
Sarah Reed
28 Jul 2017 · London (City)
Concerns: Prolonged custody awaiting psychiatric reports led to significant deterioration of the deceased's mental health in a prison assessment unit, resulting in her self-inflicted death.
Response (CNWL NHS Trust): CNWL NHS Trust has clarified report request procedures with HMPPS, ensured report requests are communicated to consultants promptly, updated care plan templates to include release planning, audited CPA meetings to …
Response (HM Prison and Probation Service): HMPPS is reviewing procedures for fitness to plead reports, developing a framework to support families with prison visits (due in 2018), implementing recommendations from the Farmer Report on family ties, …
Overdue
Aram Mustafa
19 Jun 2019 · Birmingham and Solihull
Concerns: Critical details regarding urgent medical needs and safeguarding concerns were not sufficiently shared between immigration and accommodation providers. Furthermore, safeguarding matters were not logged when individuals were subject to deportation.
Response (G4S): G4S now alerts its subcontractor UHS immediately of safeguarding concerns raised in Service Commission Forms from UKVI so that such cases can be raised with the Senior Safeguarding working group. …
Response (Urban Housing): Urban Housing Services has reviewed procedures and interactions with other agencies, including flagging incomplete safeguarding information with UKVI and G4S, directly notifying hospital visits to Attwood Green Medical Centre, updating …
Response (Government Legal Department): The Home Office is reviewing processes to ensure sufficient information is provided on Service Commission Forms, balancing this with data protection requirements. The Home Office will also share learning from …
Responded
Mark Culverhouse
02 Jun 2021 · Milton Keynes
Concerns: A prisoner was unlawfully detained due to a system failure where release dates were calculated after recall decisions, leading to unnecessary imprisonment, particularly over bank holidays.
Response (HM Prison and Probation Service): HMPPS does not consider it possible to comply with the recommendation to calculate release dates prior to a recall decision due to complexities, staffing constraints and potential risks. They will …
Responded
Anthony Fitzpatrick
07 Dec 2021 · Manchester South
Concerns: Healthcare professionals used inconsistent and subjective criteria for assessing suicide risk, not following training materials, leading to inaccurate risk grading and no plan to rectify this critical issue.
Overdue
Morgan-Rose Hart
19 Dec 2023 · Essex
Concerns: The Trust's investigation was incomplete and delayed, failing to address critical issues like inadequate staff observations and security breaches on a locked mental health ward. A dispute over permitted items and failure to escalate risk were also concerns.
Response (Essex County Council): The council is working with Integrated Commissioning Boards to address the shortfall of appropriate placements for people with Autism who have mental health and self-harm risks in Essex and has …
Response (Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust): The Trust has taken several actions, including reviewing and reinforcing the Therapeutic Engagement and Supportive Observation policy, commencing a further training programme for all clinical staff on Oxevision and E-obs, …
Response (Bindmans): Writing on behalf of a client, disputes that the deceased was an informal patient, asserting she was detained under the Mental Health Act and requests a correction to the PFD …
Responded
Owen Donnelly
17 Oct 2025 · Manchester West
Concerns: Easy online access to information for constructing weapons, currently not illegal to possess, creates a real risk due to the proliferation of unlicensed weapons while legislation is pending.
Response (Home Office): The Home Office states that the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, currently in the House of Lords, will make it a criminal offence to import, make, adapt, supply, or …
Overdue
#16 — Increasing remand lengths cause significant personal harm and risk of miscarriages of justice.
Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation: Written evidence submitted by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons stated that the length of time that people are remanded for and the extent to which this is changing is information that is not in the public domain. The Inspectorate’s evidence …
Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2025 4.2 Judges are responsible for listing, and remand cases are being prioritised by judges in line with legislative requirements. The government is …
Accepted
#15 — Remand population has surged to a 50-year high, with many exceeding custody time limits.
Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation: The remand population has grown sharply in recent years. The number of people on remand in September 2024 was 17,600, 20% of the prison population, the highest level in 50 years, up from 9,602 (11% of the prison population) in …
Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2025 4.2 Judges are responsible for listing, and remand cases are being prioritised by judges in line with legislative requirements. The government is …
Partially Accepted
#3 — Appoint a dedicated Director for Complex and Arbitrary Detentions with ancillary staff.
Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation: We recommend, once again, that a Director for Complex and Arbitrary Detentions is appointed with relevant ancillary staff in order to deliver consistency, improved partnerships with families, better coordination across Whitehall, as well as benefitting from greater authority and flexibility …
No Published Response
#2 — Extend review to reassess all arbitrary detention cases involving British nationals in high-risk countries.
Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government extend its review to reassess all cases where British nationals have received opinions of arbitrary detention and are being held in countries where there is a history of torture of foreign detainees. • The review …
No Published Response
#4 — FCDO's defensive culture undermines effective support for British nationals in arbitrary detention.
Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation: The case of Matthew Hedges, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report into the FCDO’s engagement in his case, is a stinging indictment of the FCDO’s approach to arbitrary detention and consular assistance. It demonstrates an inability to ensure that their own …
No Published Response
#26 — Abandon plans for detaining asylum-seeking children and mitigate risks for vulnerable adults in detention.
Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation: The prolonged detention with no certainty of release of asylum-seeking people who pose no threat to the public and for whom there is little prospect of removal from the UK is potentially harmful, impractical and costly. We are deeply concerned …
Gov response: In relation to the recommendation at paragraph 167, detention plays a key role in maintaining effective immigration controls and securing the UK’s borders, particularly in connection with the removal of people who have no right …
Partially Accepted
#61 — Mandate all police forces to establish standardised diversion schemes for low-level drug offences.
Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation: We recommend that the Home Office place a duty on all 43 police forces in England and Wales to establish diversion schemes in their force area for young people and adults who have committed low-level offences. The duty must outline …
Gov response: Most police forces in England and Wales already have a range of options at their disposal, for instance via Out of Court Disposal (OOCD) pathways. These routes offer approaches based on the operational judgement of …
Under Consideration
#62 — Mandate police forces to record diversion scheme use for national overview and best practice.
Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation: We recommend that police forces record the use of diversion schemes in their force areas to develop a national picture and an understanding of best practice. The Home Office must regularly update the guidance to incorporate this evidence base.
Gov response: Most police forces in England and Wales already have a range of options at their disposal, for instance via Out of Court Disposal (OOCD) pathways. These routes offer approaches based on the operational judgement of …
Partially Accepted
#60 — Inconsistent police diversion schemes for low-level drug offences create an unfair postcode lottery.
Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation: We support the use of diversion schemes for low-level offences. The use of such schemes by police forces in England and Wales is increasing and we welcome the efforts of those forces in rolling out these schemes. However, we are …
Gov response: Most police forces in England and Wales already have a range of options at their disposal, for instance via Out of Court Disposal (OOCD) pathways. These routes offer approaches based on the operational judgement of …
Accepted
Maidstone (2021)
HMP Maidstone, an exclusively foreign national Category C prison, operated under a severely restricted COVID-19 regime throughout the reporting year, impacting humane treatment, health, and resettlement. Despite staff commendations for maintaining safety and relationships, significant concerns remain regarding Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE) engagement, the rising number of IS91 detainees, and the lack of purposeful activity. Critical issues also include the poor state of the aged estate, the absence of in-cell telephony, and the persistent problem of lost property on transfer.
PRISON Key concerns
Morton Hall IRC (2021)
This final report covers the last 203 days of Morton Hall IRC's operation before its closure on 23 July 2021. The Board found the centre largely safe with professional staff and well-delivered healthcare, but noted concerns regarding slow lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and significant delays in bail releases. Staff managed the closure process exceptionally well, ensuring fair and humane treatment of detainees.
IRC Key concerns
Risley (2021)
HMP Risley demonstrates high safety standards with reductions in self-harm and violence, good healthcare provision, and strong equality and diversity initiatives. However, the Board raises significant concerns about long repatriation times for foreign nationals and property management issues. The pandemic severely impacted regime, education, and Key Worker scheme delivery, leading to limited time out of cell and restricted activities.
PRISON Key concerns
Huntercombe (2021)
HMP Huntercombe is a Category C prison for foreign national adult men, with a population of 447 and an operational capacity of 480 at the end of 2021. The year was marked by Covid-19 restrictions, which limited the regime but were commendably managed by staff, who also rolled out in-cell telephony and enhanced video calls. Key concerns include the continued detention of IS91 prisoners under inappropriate conditions, issues with property, and the need for improved healthcare information sharing.
PRISON Key concerns
Ashfield (2024)
HMP Ashfield, a Category C training and treatment centre for men convicted of sexual offences, has demonstrated an impressive safety record with significant reductions in self-harm and violence. The prison has managed a period of uncertainty due to contract changes well, ensuring good standards of accommodation, healthcare, and key working, which has been externally recognised as an exemplar. However, challenges remain, including delays in ministerial decisions on transfers, difficulties in securing resettlement places, and prisoner dissatisfaction with movement restrictions, which are perceived to make Ashfield feel more like a Category B prison.
PRISON Key concerns
Scotland and Northern Ireland short-term holding facilities (STHF) (2025)
This report monitors Short-term Holding Facilities (STHFs) in Scotland and Northern Ireland, highlighting significant variations in standards and persistent concerns despite positive staff interactions at times. Key issues include a lack of independent oversight for Controlled Waiting Areas, the continued mixed-sex detention at Larne House, and inconsistent, often inadequate, healthcare provisions, particularly the removal of prescription medication. The Board also raised concerns about substandard accommodation, excessively long detention periods in unsuitable conditions, and a strikingly low number of formal complaints, indicating systemic barriers to raising grievances.
PRISON Key concerns
Gatwick IRC (2021)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention (repeated from 2018, 2019 and 2020).
Home Office
Heathrow Short Term Holding Facility (2020)
[London Heathrow Airport] The Board recommends that the Home Office, the Detention Contractor and Border Force agree a protocol so that people waiting for return flights are allowed to stay in the holding rooms, if necessary beyond 24 hours, so that they are not sent to IRCs for stays that are insufficient to allow time to rest (paras. 10.4 -10.5).
Home Office
Brook House (2020)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Morton Hall IRC (2021)
We recommend that the government gathers and publishes monthly data on the number of detainees for whom a judge has granted bail but who remain in detention together with information on the length of time they have remained in detention since the judge’s decision. This data should be used to understand and track delays in release from detention and inform …
Home Office
Yarl’s Wood (2022)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Send (2022)
The Board continues to have concerns about the unjust detention of one IPP prisoner, who is 11 years past her original short tariff date (7.3).
Ministry of Justice
Lincoln (2022)
The Board is concerned that there is a small but nevertheless significant group of prisoners in Lincoln who are subject to indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) and have remained in custody well beyond their tariff date.
Ministry of Justice
Kent Coast Short Term Holding Facilities (STHF) (2022)
The Board recommends that detained people should not be held at Manston for longer than 24hrs in the marquee holding rooms.
Home Office
Guys Marsh (2022)
IPP prisoners continue to languish in the establishment after the recent Justice Committee decision that these individuals will not be resentenced. At what point will there be a recognition of the inhumanity of these sentences?
Ministry of Justice
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Establish a mechanism, separate if needs be, to review the continued detention of men who have been in detention for a long period without reasonable prospect of their removal (sections 7.2.4, 7.2.5).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Building on the recommended review of AAR, ACDT and Rule 35, define and promulgate procedures and guidance to ensure cases of men “likely to be injuriously affected by continued detention” (Rule 35(1)) or who are suspected “of having suicidal intentions” (Rule 35(2)) are properly identified and assessed (section 4.4.2).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Undertake a complete review of Adults at Risk, ACDT and Rule 35 policy and procedure (repeated from 2019, 2020 and 2021) (section 4.4.1).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Improve the proactivity with which caseowners and local Home Office staff address the immigration cases of all detained men, and particularly those who are vulnerable, long-staying or disengaging (sections 4.4.1, 6.3, 7.2, 7.2.4).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Increase the Detention Gatekeeper’s threshold(s) for bringing men with mental health issues into detention and improve facilities and support to enhance the prospect of release from detention for men exhibiting deterioration of their mental health in detention (section 4.4).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention
Other
Ford (2022)
Together with IMBs throughout the country, we continue to stress that sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPPs) are inhumane and should be removed from existing prisoners. There are seven prisoners serving IPP sentences in Ford at the end of the reporting year, all of whom have served over their original tariff, with one individual having served 15 years over …
Ministry of Justice
Yarl’s Wood IRC (2023)
The Board repeats the recommendation to introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Other
Gatwick IRC (2023)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Home Office
Derwentside IRC (2023)
To take steps to reduce the incidence of night-time moves into and out of Derwentside.
Other
Derwentside IRC (2023)
To introduce a time limit for immigration detention
Ministry of Justice
Belmarsh (2023)
The Minister is urged to refer all IPP prisoners to the Parole Board for consideration to terminate their licences. If the Parole Board still considers them to be a risk the Minister is urged to enable the Parole Board to reset the terms of their licence so that they are no longer held under this rule.
Ministry of Justice
Ashfield (2023)
Why, after parole boards have recommended that life sentenced and IPP prisoners convicted of sexual offences be transferred to open conditions, is it taking such a lengthy period of time for these to be confirmed or rejected by the Secretary of State for Justice? What assurances can the Minister give that this can be reduced in the near future?
Ministry of Justice
Yarl’s Wood IRC (2024)
The Board repeats the recommendation to introduce a time limit for immigration detention. If no time limit is introduced, how does the Minister plan to ensure that the amount of time people are held in detention is decreased?
Other
North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber STHF (2024)
We recommend the STHF rules be amended to place a maximum limit of 12 hours at these and similar locations.
Home Office
London STHF (2024)
The holding rooms are not equipped for stays over 24 hours and the Board would like to see the current 4.4% of people experiencing these long stays decreases significantly.
Home Office
Kent Coast Short Term Holding Facilities (STHF) (2024)
The Board recommends that detained people should continue not to be held at Manston for longer than 24 hours. And at the RHR facility, they should continue not be there for more than 96 hours.
Other
Gatwick IRC (2024)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention (repeated from IMB annual reports since 2018).
Ministry of Justice
Derwentside (2022)
To introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Derwentside (2022)
In the light of the issues and inequalities that we have highlighted in this report, to reconsider the suitability of Derwentside as an immigration removal centre.
Ministry of Justice
Derwentside (2024)
To the detention gatekeeper: not to detain women with current, or a history of, serious mental health issues
Home Office
Derwentside (2024)
To introduce a time limit for immigration detention
Other
Derwentside (2024)
In the light of the issues and inequalities we have highlighted in this report, to reconsider the suitability of Derwentside as an IRC
Other
Onley (2020)
The Prison Service should take a much more active and compelling role in ensuring the swift transfer of such prisoners [recategorised Cat D/B].
HMPPS
Morton Hall IRC (2020)
During 2021, Morton Hall IRC is to close and convert to a foreign national offender (FNO) prison. We are pleased to learn that a Home Office immigration team will be located at the prison with a view to resolving immigration cases. We recommend that preventing the need for time in detention at the end of sentences should be a key …
Other
Morton Hall IRC (2020)
Greater efforts should be made by the Home Office to reduce the number of people coming into detention from prison. Better use should be made of the time in prison to resolve their immigration cases, thus minimising the need for immigration detention in the first place.
Other
Lindholme (2020)
There continues to be a high number of IPP prisoners in HMP Lindholme and, presumably, other establishments. The indeterminate nature of this sentence can appear to be, effectively, a whole-of-life sentence, which this Board considers to be inhumane (see section 11). Will the minister seek to have an urgent review, to seek ways of significantly reducing these numbers quickly?
Ministry of Justice
Leicester (2020)
The Board believes that the present system of holding foreign national prisoners in prison for many months after their sentences have expired, under immigration powers on an IS91, is unfair (see section 5.4.3). The Board asks the minister to consult with the Home Office minister to review this process.
Ministry of Justice
Huntercombe (2020)
To ensure that issuing prisoners with an IS91 notification operates in accordance with the time limits set out in the service level agreement (SLA) with Home Office immigration enforcement (HOIE) – see paragraph 7.3.4.
HMPPS
Heathrow Short Term Holding Facility (2020)
[London Heathrow Airport] Additionally, or in the alternative, there should be an amendment to the Mitie Care and Custody (C&C) Service Level Agreement reducing the contractual window of 8 hours for providing transport between the Heathrow Airport holding rooms and the Heathrow IRC (paras. 10.4 – 10.5).
Home Office
Heathrow Short Term Holding Facility (2020)
[Becket House] The Board recommends that the Home Office arranges for the provision of more frequent transport between Becket House and the IRCs to avoid excessive waits for detainees and over-crowding in the holding room (para. 27.2).
Home Office
Garth (2020)
The Board maintains its stance that retrospective legislation is required to resolve this problem fully, in order to stop the unjust detention of these prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Charter Flight (2020)
Returnees must not be confined in vehicles for hours. The CFMT observed that they were rarely given any hint of the likely timeline. The first and last components of time spent in vehicles (collection and then hanging around at airports) must be better managed, to minimise in-vehicle confinement. The recommendation about coach confinement made in the CFMT’s 2019 annual report …
Other
Maidstone (2021)
Support to implement effective collaboration between HMPPS and HOIE so that communication and end of sentence management for foreign national prisoners are improved, the number of IS91 detainees is reduced and these detainees are no longer held in closed prisons.
Other
Lindholme (2021)
Although the Minister gave a full answer last year to our concerns regarding the number of IPP prisoners held in this establishment, the fact remains that there has been very little reduction in the number still being held here. Would the Minister give further consideration as to how the numbers can be reduced more effectively?
Ministry of Justice
Leyhill (2021)
What further action will the minister take to speed up the resettlement in the community of prisoners serving IPP sentences, many of whom have spent far longer in custody than recommended in their indicative tariffs?
Ministry of Justice
Huntercombe (2021)
Together with Home Office colleagues, to resolve the issue of men continuing to be held under immigration powers post-sentence under convicted criminal conditions (paragraphs 4.2.5, 7.3.3, 7.3.4, 7.3.5 and 7.3.6.).
Ministry of Justice
Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre (2021)
Much more needs to be done to remove TSFNOs on completion of time served, rather than moving them to the IDE before making arrangements for their removal. Despite a new operating model being introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2021, the Board still observed too many TSFNOs entering HIRC to begin their immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Cardiff (2021)
The Board continues to have concerns about men being held in custody on IS91s and their access to Home Office representatives. This issue has been raised in the last two reports. In March and April 2021, one man who was held under an IS91 began to refuse food because he was held in custody past his release date. Whilst understanding …
Home Office
Brinsford (2021)
Prisoners held on immigration status are kept far too long before transfer to an immigration removal centre or their home country.
Home Office
Yarl’s Wood (2022)
Reduce length of stay by improving processes relating to asylum status and/or removal to reduce length of stay.
Home Office
Assessment of government progress in implementing the report on the … — Rec 2
The Home Offce should develop a strategic plan for the type and scale of immigration estate it thinks necessary, bearing in mind the priority now attached to voluntary returns, so that the number and location of beds is proportionate to carrying out its wider aims.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 62
I recommend that the Home Office give further consideration to ways of strengthening the legal safeguards against excessive length of detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 22
I further recommend that rule 35 (or its replacement) should apply to those detainees held in prisons as well as those in IRCs.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 21
I recommend that the Home Office immediately consider an alternative to the current rule 35 mechanism. This should include whether doctors independent of the IRC system (for example, Forensic Medical Examiners) would be more appropriate to conduct the assessments as well as the training implications.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 16
I recommend that a further clause should be added to the list in paragraph 55.10 of the EIG to reflect the dynamic nature of vulnerability and thus encompass ‘persons otherwise identified as being sufficiently vulnerable that their continued detention would be injurious to their welfare’.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 14
I recommend that transsexual people should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 13
I recommend that people with Learning Difficulties should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 12
I recommend that those with a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 5
I recommend that the Home Office draw up plans either to close Cedars or to change its use as a matter of urgency.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 63
I recommend that the Home Office investigate the development of alternatives to detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 48
Home Office staff should be reminded that, to ensure continuity of care, detainees should not be transferred when there is clinical advice to the contrary.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 47
I recommend that the Home Office remind service providers of the need to use professional interpreting facilities whenever language barriers are identified on reception.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 46
I recommend that the Home Office review the use of fellow detainees as interpreters for induction interviews.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 45
I recommend that the Home Office seek the views of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health on extending section 75 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to IRCs, prisons and mental hospitals.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 39
I recommend that the Home Office should routinely publish statistics on the number of transfers of detainees between IRCs and STHFs.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 38
The Home Office should review all the rule 40 and rule 42 accommodation to ensure that it is fit for purpose. All contractors should be asked for improvement plans to ensure that the name Care and Separation Unit is something more than a euphemism.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 36
I recommend that Home Office Detention Operations carry out an audit of reception and holding environments to ensure that the policy on searching out of sight of other people is properly followed.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 35
I recommend that the service provider at Yarl’s Wood should only conduct searches of women and of women’s rooms in the presence of men in the most extreme and pressing circumstances, and that there should be monitoring and reporting of these cases.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 30
The internet access policy should be reviewed with a view to increasing access to sites that enable detainees to pursue and support their immigration claim, to prepare for their return home, and which enable them to maximise contact with their families. This should include access to Skype and to social …
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 29
I recommend that the Home Office and the Department of Health work together to consider whether current arrangements for safeguarding are adequate.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 28
The Home Office should consider if the allocation criteria and processes to which DEPMU operates could be strengthened.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 27
I recommend that the Home Office conduct an annual audit (or ask for an independent audit) of the RSRA process so that it remains an effective means of ensuring detainee safety.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 26
I recommend that the Home Office consider how rapidly it can move towards a system of electronic record keeping for the PER and IS91RA.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 25
I recommend that the Home Office commission a formal review of the quality of PERs and that any deficiencies are addressed. In the meantime, all staff should be reminded of the importance of completing PERs fully.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 24
I note that DSO 03/2013 on food and fluid refusal is currently the subject of internal review within the Home Office. I recommend that the review consider alternatives to treatment within a prison or IRC in light of my discussion of this issue.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 23
Once the NOMS review of ACCT is complete, there should be an urgent review of ACDT and DSO 06/2008, informed by the NOMS review and by the findings of this report.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 20
The Home Office should consider introducing a single gatekeeper for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 19
The Home Office should consider the need for a separate DSO on LGBI detainees. Anti-‐bullying policies should include explicit reference to LGBTI detainees.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 18
I recommend that the Home Office consider what learning there is for IRCs from the Prison Service’s experience of operating ‘first night centres’ for those initially received into custody.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 17
I recommend that the Home Office consider establishing a joint policy with NOMS on provision for those held in prison under immigration powers.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 15
I recommend that the wording in paragraph 55.10 of the EIG in respect of elderly people be tightened to include a specific upper age limit.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 10
I recommend that the Home Office amend its guidance so that the presumptive exclusion from detention for pregnant women is replaced with an absolute exclusion.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into the Disturbance and Fire at Yarl's Wood Removal … — Rec 20
the Home Office restrict the use of special urgency notification procedures to cases of absolute necessity (as indeed is required by the relevant regulations).
Immigration Detention
Investigation into the Disturbance and Fire at Yarl's Wood Removal … — Rec 5
IND and GSL resolve the matter of twin protocols as a matter of priority since it is presumably replicated in relation to all GSL’s immigration establishments.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 49
I recommend that a formal protocol is drawn up between the contractor and the Immigration Service setting out the circumstances in which attempts at removal could be abandoned.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 35
I recommend that IND and Securicor review the logistics of escorted removals to minimise the time that staff and detainees spend waiting at airports.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 30
I recommend that IND urgently reviews the lawfulness of the 'segregation room' in Queen's Building and establishes a clear protocol to govern its use.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 5
I recommend that IND’s Detainee Estate Population Management Unit (DEPMU) staff are reminded of the emotional and practical problems (including access to legal advice) associated with movement, and encouraged to keep moves to a minimum.
Immigration Detention
Assessment of government progress in implementing the report on the … — Rec 33
The Home Offce should no longer routinely seek to remove those who were born in the UK or have been brought up here from an early age.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 60
The Home Office should examine its processes for carrying out detention reviews, including looking at training requirements, arrangements for signing off cases at a senior level, and auditing arrangements.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 44
I recommend that the Home Office liaise with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that all IMBs in IRCs have sufficient membership at all times.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 43
I recommend that the Home Office consider if the inspection arrangements for IRCs can ensure the involvement of the ICI.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 42
I recommend that the practice of overbooking charter flights should cease.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 41
I recommend that the Home Office negotiate night-‐time closures at each IRC, the times of which should reflect local circumstances.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 40
The Home Office should review the use made of regional airports for removals.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 37
I recommend that the Home Office consider amalgamating and modernising rules 40 and 42.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 34
The Home Office should no longer require contractors to operate an Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 33
I recommend that the Home Office review detainees’ access to natural light and to the open air, and invite contractors to bring forward proposals to increase the time that detainees can spend outside.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 32
I recommend that all IRCs should review the range of activities offered to detainees; in particular, those that could provide skills to detainees that would be useful on their return to their home country.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 31
I recommend that the Home Office reconsider its approach to pay rates for detainees in light of my comments on the benefits of allowing contractors greater flexibility.
Immigration Detention
P-004308 — Probation Service
Mr A complained to our service about the NPS. He says it did not follow the correct steps to ensure he was released on the Parole Board's planned release date, and nobody told him why the prison continued to detain him following his planned release.
UK Government Upheld Nov 2025
P-003052 — UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)
Mr B complains about the length of time it took UKVI to complete an Administrative Review of his visa application.
UK Government Oct 2024
P-002912 — University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Mr A complains that in March 2023 the Trust detained him without following the relevant guidelines and he it did not provide him with the appropriate documentation about his detention.
NHS in England Sep 2024
P-003249 — West London NHS Trust
Ms K complains about the care and treatment she received from the West London NHS Trust whilst she was detained under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act.
NHS in England Dec 2024
P-002901 — West London NHS Trust
Ms L complains the Trust medicated her against her will while she was detained under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act. She also says the Trust's staff accused her of medical fraud and being violent.
NHS in England Aug 2024
P-002960 — Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs R complains the Trust inappropriately placed her under a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard order. She also says the Trust incorrectly raised a safeguarding concern about her and her husband’s relationship.
NHS in England Sep 2024
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