Quarterly assessment of staffing levels against population needs
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 and contractors operating immigration removal centres must ensure that there is ongoing assessment of staffing levels (at least on a quarterly basis), so that the level of staff present within each centre is appropriate for the size and needs of the detained population. The Home Office must also ensure that the detained population does not increase at any immigration centre unless staffing is at an adequate level.
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, DSO 02/2018 (Detainee Custody Officer certification and training) was updated (Detention Services Order 02/2018 v2.0, Home Office, November 2025).
- No independently published quarterly staffing assessment methodology or compliance audit has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
A new staffing model has been implemented delivering a 'considerably healthier ratio of custodial staff per detained individual to nearly double what it was in 2017'. Contract reviews address safe staffing policies.
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): 'Completed and closed as of October 2024.' Source →
- 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.