Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) prevent cross-infection and (b) tackle transmission of covid-19 in (i) Yarl's Wood and (ii) other immigration removal centres.

We take the welfare of the detainees in our care very seriously. In line with Public Health England guidance, measures such as protective isolation are considered on a case by case basis to minimise the risk of COVID-19 spreading to vulnerable groups in the immigration detention estate. Further measures including shielding, single occupancy rooms and the cessation of social visits have been introduced in line with the Government direction on social distancing. In light of this, detainees have been provided with additional mobile phone credit to ensure they are able to contact friends and families while social visits have been stopped.

Detainees arriving at an Immigration Removal Centre are medically assessed by a nurse within two hours of their arrival and are offered an appointment with a doctor within 24 hours. Detainees also have access to medical assistance whilst they are in an IRC.

There are currently no cases of Covid-19 in IRCs. On 26 March, the High Court ruled that our approach to detention and Coronavirus was sensible, with the appropriate precautionary measures in place.