Introduce 28-day maximum time limit on detention
Brook House Inquiry · The Brook House Inquiry Report · Issued 19 September 2023
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The government must introduce in legislation a maximum 28-day time limit on any individual's detention within an immigration removal centre.
Brook House Inquiry, The Brook House Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- No subsequent change of position has been identified in published government documents to March 2026.
How was this evidence gathered?
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
The government does not accept this recommendation. The government stated: 'A time limit would significantly impair the ability to remove those who have breached immigration laws and refused to leave the UK voluntarily.'
Home Office · 19 Mar 2024 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 21 Jul 2025 Judicial review R (D1914) v SSHD [2025] EWHC 1853 (Admin) dismissed (21 July 2025). Court found no legal obligation on government to comply with public inquiry recommendations. Rejection of 28-day detention time limit held to be lawful exercise of discretion. Source →
- 14 Jan 2025 Angela Eagle, Written PQ 23170 (15 January 2025): '30 out of the 33 recommendations have been accepted or partially accepted. Following full consideration three recommendations (recommendations 7, 19 and 30) have been rejected.' Source →
- 3 Sep 2025 · HM Inspectorate of Prisons Government rejected this recommendation. 67% of detainees held over 2 months. Longest detention exceeded 550 days. View source → No Meaningful Progress
- 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.