Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will close (a) Yarl's Wood and (b) other detention centres as a result of covid-19.
No. There are currently no plans for the temporary closure of any of our immigration removal centres. The health of those in immigration removal centres is of the utmost importance but we remain committed to removing foreign national offenders or those who violate our immigration rules. Detention plays a key role in securing our borders and maintaining effective immigration control.
Decisions to detain an individual are based on all of the information known at the time. As circumstances change, temporary release may then become the most appropriate option.
As of 23 June, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the immigration detention estate.