Address barriers to detainee complaints including fear of repercussions
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 its contractors operating immigration removal centres must take steps to identify and address the barriers to making complaints that are faced by detained people, including a fear of repercussions. This must include training for staff on their role in enabling detained people to overcome these barriers.
Brook House Inquiry, The Brook House Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In February 2025, DSO 03/2015 (Handling Complaints in IRCs) was updated (Detention Services Order 03/2015, Home Office, February 2025).
- In July 2025, DSO 03/2020 (Whistleblowing) version 3.0 was published, introducing a confidential hotline and monthly reporting requirements for contractors (Detention Services Order 03/2020 v3.0, Home Office, July 2025).
- No independent assessment of whether detainee-facing barriers to complaint have been reduced in practice has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
A comprehensive review of complaints processes is underway, including engagement with detainees, IMB and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Detention Services Orders are to be updated on completion.
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): 'Due for closure by end of January 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.
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.