Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Rule 35 applications submitted by healthcare providers in each immigration removal centre received a response from her Department in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 sets out requirements for doctors at
immigration removal centres to report on:

(1) any detained person whose health is likely to be injuriously affected by
continued detention or any conditions of detention;
(2) any detained person suspected of having suicidal intentions; and
(3) any detained person for whom there are concerns that they may have been a
victim of torture.

The following table shows the number of Rule 35 applications submitted by
healthcare providers in immigration removal centres.

All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are
therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been
quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

The issue of a Rule 35 report does not mean that the detainee concerned will be
released automatically from detention, or even necessarily that the doctor
making the report will have recommended release. Rule 35 is a mechanism for
information to be brought to the attention of Home Office caseworkers so that
it may be considered and the person’s detention reviewed in light of it, in
line with detention policy. Whether or not an individual is released will
depend on the specific facts of the case.

All the Rule 35 applications submitted by healthcare providers in immigration
removal centres during the period in question were brought to the attention of
Home Office caseworkers and the person’s detention reviewed in line with
detention policy.