Mandatory comprehensive Rule 34 and Rule 35 training
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 (in collaboration with NHS England as required) must ensure that comprehensive training on Rule 34 and Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 is rolled out urgently across the immigration detention estate. Staff must be subject to refresher training, at least annually. Attendance must be mandatory for all staff working in immigration removal centres and those responsible for managing them, as well as GPs and relevant Home Office staff. Consideration must be given as to whether such training should be subject to an assessment.
Brook House Inquiry, The Brook House Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In January 2025, the Home Office updated DSO 08/2016 (Management of Adults at Risk) including mandatory Vulnerable Adult Care Plans and caseworker responsibilities for Level 2 and 3 cases (Detention Services Order 08/2016, Home Office, January 2025).
- In July 2025, the Home Office published an interim DSO on Rule 35, adding guidance on suicidal intent and Home Office oversight of Rule 35 reports, pending completion of the full Adults at Risk and Rule 34–35 review (Detention Services Order 09/2016 interim version, Home Office, July 2025).
- The July 2025 interim DSO noted the Adults at Risk and Rule 34–35 review was expected to conclude by end of June 2025; no published final DSO had been identified at the time of this assessment.
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
The Home Office is reviewing the Adults at Risk policy and Detention Centre Rules 34 and 35. NHS England is developing interim clinical guidance to support GPs on Rule 35 assessments, with full training to follow once the review concludes.
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): 'On track for closure by summer 2025.' Source →
- 18 Nov 2024 HMIP unannounced inspection of Brook House (August 2024, published 18 November 2024): safety rated 'not sufficiently good'; assaults on staff rose from 14 to 80; 35% of detainees reported suicidal feelings. Follow-up review (July 2025, published 1 September 2025) found some improvement in staffing, stabilised violence, and better drug control. Source →
- 3 Sep 2025 · HM Inspectorate of Prisons Rule 35 appointments taking up to 3 weeks - far too long. Routine failure to submit reports for suicidal detainees. Home Office identification of vulnerabilities inadequate. View source → Insufficient 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.