Update mental vulnerability and mental capacity DSO guidance
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 review and update Detention Services Order 04/2020: Mental Vulnerability and Immigration Detention: Non-Clinical Guidance to set out comprehensive guidance for detention and healthcare staff where there are concerns that a detained person is suffering mental ill health or lacks mental capacity. This must include an appropriate system for: the routine handover or sharing of relevant information between detention custody staff and healthcare staff (for example, in Security Information Reports and Anti-Bullying Support Plans); the identification and follow-up of missed medical appointments; the assessment of mental capacity where indicated; and mental health assessment where indicated. The Home Office must ensure that training about the updated guidance takes place on a regular (at least annual) basis for detention and healthcare staff, as well as those responsible for managing them. The training must 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, DSO 08/2016 (Management of Adults at Risk) was updated to include mandatory Vulnerable Adult Care Plans for Level 3 cases, standardised VACPs across all facilities, and new caseworker responsibilities (Detention Services Order 08/2016, Home Office, January 2025).
- The July 2025 interim Rule 35 DSO includes updated guidance on detained persons who may lack mental capacity, though the full mental vulnerability DSO revision remained pending the completion of the Adults at Risk and Rule 34–35 review (Detention Services Order 09/2016 interim, Home Office, July 2025).
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
The government stated it is considering policy on detained people with mental ill health as part of wider work on vulnerable adults, scoping requirements with NHS England.
Home Office · 19 Mar 2024 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 15 Dec 2025 High Court ruling AH and IS v SSHD [2025] EWHC 3269 (Admin) (15 December 2025): found systemic disconnect between Adults at Risk policy, ACDT systems, and Rule 35 processes at Brook House. Source →
- 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 Engagement with charities described as "very limited". 10 people released homeless in past year including 3 assessed as adults at risk. 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.
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