Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following their press release on 1 May stating that detention capacity had been increased to more than 2,200 spaces for those being removed to Rwanda, how many additional detention spaces have been created for this purpose and where they are located.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office currently operates seven immigration removal centres (IRCs) throughout the UK
As of 24 April the Home Office has the capacity to detain around 2,200 people in IRCs, including those liable for removal to Rwanda.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of legal aid provision for immigration cases.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Legal aid is available for asylum cases, for immigration matters for victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery, for separated migrant children and for immigration detention cases.
Once commenced, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to merits and means free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.
We have taken action to increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases, by:
Setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate;
Providing up to £1.4 million of funding in 2024 for accreditation and re-accreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work;
Allowing Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS) providers to give guidance remotely, at the discretion of providers and subject to their professional judgement and their obligations towards vulnerable persons; and
Introducing payment for travel time between Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and DDAS surgeries.
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services.
The LAA regularly engages with provider representative groups, including on the provision of immigration and asylum services, via forums such as the Civil Contract Consultative Group.
The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term; the Green Paper consultation is expected in July 2024.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government in which immigration removal centres the additional 2,200 detention spaces referred to in their press release of 1 May are located.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office currently operates seven immigration removal centres (IRCs) throughout the UK (six in England and one in Scotland); Harmondsworth and Colnbrook IRCs at Heathrow; Brook House and Tinsley House IRCs at Gatwick; Derwentside IRC in County Durham; Yarl’s Wood IRC in Bedfordshire and Dungavel House IRC in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
As of 24 April, the Home Office has the capacity to detain around 2,200 people in IRCs, including those liable for removal to Rwanda.
Individuals who were previously present in a safe third country and entered the UK by a dangerous and unnecessary method are liable to be relocated to Rwanda. As this is an ongoing operational matter it would be inappropriate to provide a running commentary on individual cases or numbers.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following their press release on 1 May stating that individuals are to be detained for removal to Rwanda in the next nine to 11 weeks, how many such individuals they anticipate will be granted immigration bail in the interim.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As all detention decisions are particular to the individual concerned it would be inappropriate to predict the extent of any related future activity.
The government has repeatedly stated that it will not be providing a running commentary on the removals process.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Introduction to the Government Response to the Report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its visit to the United Kingdom from 27 March to 6 April 2023 (CPT/Inf (2024) 09), whether he has had recent discussion with Cabinet colleagues on the implications for their policies of the (a) conditions of detention and (b) treatment of persons held under immigration powers in the UK.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Detention plays a key role in maintaining effective immigration control and securing the UK’s borders, particularly in connection with the removal of people who have no right to remain in the UK but who refuse to leave voluntarily.
The Home Office takes the welfare and safety of people in its care very seriously and we are committed to ensuring the proper protection and treatment of people in detention.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which private companies have been contracted by his Department to provide services to the (a) UK government and (b) Rwandan government, to assist in the delivery of the processes outlined in the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Department uses a number of suppliers to undertake detention and returns activity, MEDP being a workstream within this area. The key suppliers that will be involved with MEDP will be:
Mitie Care and Custody Ltd – via the immigration escorting contract https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/8e94f338-6049-48f7-8b82-9dea24af8857?p=1.
CWT – via the immigration travel service contract. https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/36f67d6d-2b26-4ecb-88c6-41291aa8af37?origin=SearchResults&p=1.
Services provided to the Rwandan Government by private companies are for the Government of Rwanda to procure.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of detaining asylum seekers that have experienced torture on their mental health.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office takes the welfare and safety of people in its care very seriously and we are committed to ensuring the proper protection and treatment of vulnerable people in detention.
The Home Office recognises that some groups of people can be at particular risk of harm in immigration detention. This is the basis of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy. In accordance with the policy, people considered to be vulnerable, including those suffering from serious mental health conditions and victims of torture, are detained only when the risk factors in their case are outweighed by the immigration considerations.
People entering detention have a medical screening undertaken by a nurse within two hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) which seeks to identify any immediate or long-term healthcare risks. Subject to them providing consent, everyone detained in an IRC is also given an appointment with a doctor for a physical and mental examination which takes place within 24 hours of their arrival at the IRC.
Everyone in detention also has access to a complete range of medical care throughout their period in an IRC including primary care, dentistry, substance misuse treatment services, mental health care and welfare services. Depending on the outcomes of the reception screening and the doctor’s appointment, clinical pathways into other healthcare services such as mental health or welfare services may be initiated.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government Response to the recommendation in paragraph 47 of the Report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its visit to the United Kingdom from 27 March to 6 April 2023 (CPT/Inf (2024) 09) that a healthcare professional be present during all Assessment, Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) interviews in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), if he will take steps to address resourcing constraints of healthcare staff in order to meet the needs of mentally vulnerable people in detention.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Healthcare services in immigration detention facilities in England are commissioned by NHS England. We take our responsibility towards detained individuals seriously and work closely with NHS England to ensure the health and safety of people we detain is safeguarded.
Healthcare staff attend Assessment, Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) reviews where possible, and particularly if there are health concerns with the individual in question or a specific request for healthcare attendance has been made. DSO 01/2022 Assessment care in detention and teamwork provides guidance on the care and management of individuals under the ACDT process.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the commencement of detention operations undertaken by his Department following the passage of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 on levels of contact with people whose asylum claims have been deemed inadmissible.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office routinely monitors levels of compliance for individuals who are required to report as a condition of their bail. We have a range of interventions available to us to maintain contact, including face to face reporting, contact by telephone, digital reporting and notifications from the accommodation providers where they reside.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Rule 35(1) reports made by GPs working in Immigration Removal Centres setting out their concerns that continued detention of a person was likely to be injurious to their health were received by his Department from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023; how many such persons were released from detention as a result of such a report; and in how many cases was detention continued because his Department believed that the vulnerabilities identified by the medical practitioner were outweighed by immigration control factors.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
We regularly publish data on Rule 35(1) report from GPs in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs).
For the information from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023. Information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-q4-2023.
DT_03: Reports made by a medical practitioner to the Home Office under Rule 35 on individuals in immigration detention by level (1, 2 and 3).
To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office refers to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication.
We do not routinely publish information about whether continued detention could be harmful to a person’s health along with details on number of people released or where detention was continued for immigration control reasons.