14th Report - Immigration detention
- HC No.
- HC 913
- Published
- 21 Mar 2019
- Items
- 0
- Government response
- Government response published 6 September 2019. Read the government's response ↗
Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Immigration detention inquiry
Closed
Opened 14 Mar 2018
Closed 14 Mar 2018
Home Affairs Committee Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
In September 2017, the Committee held an evidence session inquiring into the running of Brook House Immigration Removal Centre. The BBC Panorama investigation highlighted serious issues at Brook House, including: Endemic drug-taking (both Spice and cannabis) Under-staffing Allegations of assault, racial abuse and mocking of detainees by staff employed by private operators Cases of self-harm and attempted suicide amongst detainees Failure to report incidents of C&R (control and restraint) or refusal to eat As these issues appear to affect the immigration detention estate more widely, the Committee have decided to broaden the inquiry to assess the extent to which they are systemic and the steps that could be taken to address them.
Where it stands
The inquiry is closed, opened 14 March 2018.
The committee has published 1 report, most recently 14th Report - Immigration detention on 21 March 2019.
The government's response
Published 6 September 2019.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government states that it is "unable to agree to all" of the Committee's recommendations, accepting some and rejecting others while pointing to its programme of detention reforms.
- On a maximum 28-day time limit, it rejects the recommendation, saying a limit would "severely constrain" immigration control, and it is "clear that there is insufficient evidence to justify such a change".
- On judicial review of initial detention decisions within 72 hours, it rejects the recommendation, saying the case has not been made for a "radical redesign", but will "carefully review" the outcome of its two-month automatic bail referral pilot.
- On Rule 35, it accepts the "broad thrust" of the recommendations and states that a dedicated central team, independent of the original detention decision makers, is "expected to be established by mid August 2019".
- On the Adults at Risk policy, it rejects recommendations 13, 14, 16 and 17 but accepts 15, supporting an annual review by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
Reports
- 14th Report - Immigration detention21 March 2019
Evidence
- 3 oral evidence sessionsLatest 11 September 2018
Recent activity
- 15th Special Report - Immigration detention: Government Response to the Committee’s Fourteenth Report6 September 2019, Report published
- 14th Report - Immigration detention21 March 2019, Report published
- Letter from the Immigration Minister regarding the use of immigration detention, 3 December 201810 December 2018, Correspondence
Reports
Oral evidence sessions
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Correspondence
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| Published | Direction | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Dec 2018 | To committee | Letter from the Immigration Minister regarding the use of immigration detention, 3 December 2018 |