Independent review of use of force on mentally ill 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 must urgently commission an independent review (with the power to make recommendations) of use of force on detained people with mental ill health within immigration removal centres. The review must consider: how, when and whether to use force on detained people with mental ill health (including the application of pain-inducing techniques); the likely effect of the use of force on a detained person's mental health; the use of individual risk assessments for detained people, which could be conducted by personal officers and healthcare professionals; and the increased use and prioritisation of de-escalation techniques for those who have mental ill health. The review must take place in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including detained people's representative groups and mental ill health experts. The recommendations of the review must be incorporated in the new detention services order regarding the use of force (see Recommendation 15), in respect of which additional, regular (at least annual) training must then be provided.
Brook House Inquiry, The Brook House Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
The government stated it is working with HMPPS, NHS England and DHSC to develop new operational standards for use of force on detained people with mental ill health.
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 42% of detainees assessed at higher risk (up from 25%). Mental health provision improving but still inadequate for demand. 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.
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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.