Ensure reasonable internet and computer access for detainees
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 and its contractors must ensure reasonable access to computers and the internet. Contractors must comply in full with Detention Services Order 04/2016: Detainee Access to the Internet, in particular: Computers and the internet provided for detained people's use must be maintained and fixed, if broken, within a reasonable time period, in order to allow detained people to access the internet for a minimum of seven hours per day, seven days per week. Websites containing personal internet-based email accounts must not be blocked, since this is not a prohibited category of website. Websites facilitating the provision of legal advice and representation must not be blocked, as this is not a prohibited category of website.
Brook House Inquiry, The Brook House Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- DSO 04/2016 (Detainee Access to the Internet) was updated in 2024–2026, version 3.0 (Detention Services Order 04/2016 v3.0, Home Office, 2024–2026).
- No published independent assessment of internet access standards in practice has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
Service contracts mandate adherence to Detention Services Orders including the mandatory provision of and regulated access to IT equipment and internet services. Fines are available for non-compliance.
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.