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3 Accepted in Part

Limit cell occupancy to maximum two people

Brook House Inquiry · The Brook House Inquiry Report · Issued 19 September 2023 · Addressed to: Home Office

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

The Home Office must ensure that a maximum of two detained people are accommodated in each cell at Brook House.

Brook House Inquiry, The Brook House Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

- In March 2024, the Home Office stated that all rooms across the removal estate meet standards under Rule 15(1) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, that no room designed for two individuals at Brook House houses more than two, and that there are no plans to change this (Government Response to the Brook House Inquiry, Home Office, March 2024).
- No published independent inspection of cell occupancy at Brook House has been identified since the government response.

Response — verbatim from government

●Home Office

All rooms across the removal estate meet standards under Rule 15(1) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. At Brook House, no room designed for two individuals houses more than two, with no plans to change this.

Home Office · 19 Mar 2024 Written response →

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

  • 14 Jan 2025 Angela Eagle, Written PQ 23170 (15 January 2025): 'Completed and closed as of October 2024.' Source →
  • 3 Sep 2025 · HM Inspectorate of Prisons Rolling refurbishment of units and upgraded library described as "relaxed and welcoming space". However, cells remain inadequately ventilated with sealed windows. View source → Mixed Findings
  • 19 Sep 2024 · Brook House Inquiry Chair Inquiry Chair Kate Eves described government response as "inadequate" and called for a "reset" with the new government. Warned abuse "becomes a question of when, not if" it happens again. Insufficient Progress

Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.

How this page is built

Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.

This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.