Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether asylum seekers transported by coach from UK ports to reception or processing centres are accompanied by Home Office, Border Force, police, security, or welfare staff; and what guidance governs those arrangements.

The Home Office has interpreted these questions to apply to the arrangements for bringing migrants from Channel crossings to the Immigration Reception Centre at Manston in particular, rather than detainee escorting more generally.

People being moved from arrival locations to reception areas are escorted by appropriate security personnel on dedicated transportation, and movements are managed in accordance with established operational procedures designed to ensure safety, security and welfare.

The Home Office does not routinely publish detailed information relating to these transportation arrangements to avoid prejudicing security and operational effectiveness. Additionally, the specific information about bookings is not held by the Home Office in a readily retrievable form and therefore could not be provided except at a disproportionate cost.