Clarify authorisation for Rule 40 and Rule 42 segregation
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 amend, as a matter of urgency, Detention Services Order 02/2017: Removal from Association (Detention Centre Rule 40) and Temporary Confinement (Detention Centre Rule 42) and, if necessary, the Detention Services Operating Standards Manual for Immigration Service Removal Centres, to clarify who can authorise use of Rule 40 and Rule 42 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, in both urgent and non-urgent circumstances, including providing a definition of the term 'manager' in Rule 40(2) and Rule 42(2). In anticipation of the update to Detention Services Order 02/2017, the Home Office must issue an immediate instruction to communicate this clarification to staff and contractors operating immigration detention centres.
Brook House Inquiry, The Brook House Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In November 2025, the Home Office published DSO 2/2017 version 5.0, described as containing "significant updates and clarifications to strengthen safeguards" on use of separation (Detention Services Order 02/2017 v5.0, Home Office, 28 November 2025).
- DSO 2/2017 v5.0 specifies that initial authorisation for 24 hours requires a Home Office Detention Services Manager (EO grade or above); extensions to 14 days require Grade 7 sign-off; the DSO explicitly states removal from association must be "necessary, as a last resort, and never as punishment"; daily multidisciplinary reviews are required; and seven annexes prescribe documentation (Detention Services Order 02/2017 v5.0, Home Office, November 2025).
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
An interim Detention Services Order has been published clarifying Rule 40 (removal from association) and Rule 42 (temporary confinement) authorisation protocols. A substantive DSO revision is underway examining assurance mechanisms, staff training, and compliance auditing.
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 →
- 3 Sep 2025 · HM Inspectorate of Prisons Better-resourced welfare and reception services. Healthcare provision improved but gaps remain in mental health support. View source → Reasonable 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.