Source · IMB Annual Report
North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber STHF
Year: 2023
Published: 22 Aug 2023
Type: Prison · Cat Immigration STHF
Recommendations: 17
Key concerns
Positive findings
This is the first annual report for the North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humberside IMB, covering Short-Term Holding Facilities (STHFs) from February 2022 to January 2023. While staff conduct and detainee treatment generally received positive feedback, significant concerns arose regarding the unsafe opening and managing large intakes at Swinderby Residential STHF. The Board also highlighted the critical and unresolved issue of Home Office policy preventing detainees in all STHFs from taking prescribed medication, deeming it inhumane and dangerous.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Self-harm incidents | 0 | — |
| ACCT cases opened | 6 | — |
| Prisoner assaults | 0 | — |
| Assaults on staff | 0 | — |
| Use of force | 0 | — |
| Drug finds | 0 | — |
Positive findings
The Board generally regards Swinderby RSTHF as a safe space, noting staff behaviours and practices prioritize detainee safety, welfare, and dignity. Detainees at Swinderby consistently reported positive feedback on staff treatment. Teething problems identified after opening were quickly resolved, and healthcare provision at Swinderby appears adequate. The Board commends Border Force staff for their vigilance in identifying vulnerabilities, modern slavery, and exploitation cases in port and airport STHFs.
Key concerns
Safety
The centre opened without resolving problems with the alarm system and healthcare safety provision that could have endangered safety.
Safety
The arrival process of a large number of residents at the RSTHF was unsafe on the night of 5 November 2022.
Safety
The ongoing arrangements for reception interviews at the RSTHF. This is an important conversation for risk identification in general and for screening for vulnerabilities in particular, specifically in relation to exploitation, modern slavery and possible triggering of the national referral mechanism but we are concerned it is not conducted in a private and confidential setting or in a manner that is likely to be effective.
Safety
Safety of people detained and held in the back of Border Force vans at the time of their initial discovery.
Healthcare
Repeated
Safety of staff and people detained in circumstances where current Home Office policy prevents people taking their medication for pre-existing medical conditions.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Some facilities in the RSTHF (namely dining area seating capacity, IT and games provision and language translation desktop phones) may prove inadequate should the facility have to operate at full or near-full capacity.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
People being detained in holding rooms overnight or in police stations instead of in residential STHFs.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Overreliance on police stations for immigration detention of people detained at ports and airports.
Estate/Conditions
Protracted delays in the opening of the new Immingham STHF.
Complaints/Property
Inadequate or no file recording of ongoing care and welfare checks.
Resettlement/Release
Transfers out of the RSTHF with men arriving at bail addresses in the community in the middle of the night or close to dawn.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Difficulties in arranging transport which sometimes means that stays in STHFs are longer than they need to be.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | We recommend that Home Office policy be immediately amended to enable staff in STHFs to continue removing medicine from the possession of those detained but to allow them to permit the person detained to take a required dose at intervals as per the prescription or pharmaceutical product recommendations. We judge that permitting single doses is important for preventing any risk of health deterioration and for being fair and humane while minimising any adverse risk. Repeated | Home Office | |
| 2 | We recommend that the Home Office identify the learning that arises from both of these projects and builds that learning into future design, commissioning and oversight procedures and practices. | Home Office | |
| 3 | In the light of the unsafe arrival of a large intake of residents from Harmondsworth IRC in November 2022, we recommend that clear limitations are placed on both the vehicle size and number of residents who can arrive at the RSTHF at any one time. | Home Office | |
| 4 | We recommend that the Home Office implements bed booking and transport arrangements so that STHFs in our region can transfer such cases to Swinderby and will no longer need to use police stations. | Home Office | |
| 5 | We recommend that no-one held in detention should be left unsupervised in a van. We also recommend that van journeys to holding rooms should be commenced as quickly as possible so that time spent in the van is kept to a minimum. | Home Office | |
| 6 | We recommend that Home Office case processing in residential facilities is timed so that night moves in general are avoided except for cases where a night transfer or release is unavoidable. Specifically, we recommend that releases to bail addresses from RSTHFs are processed so that they take place during daylight hours or no later than 10pm. | Home Office | |
| 7 | We recommend that Border Force staff at STHFs ensure that all ongoing care and welfare checks are fully and properly recorded on the annex A form in the port. | Home Office | |
| 8 | We consider that none of the STHFs we monitor are comfortable places for stays of longer than eight or nine hours, and particularly bearing in mind that people may already have been travelling for significant periods of time. We recommend that all STHFs are able to offer people who are detained a temporary sleeping mattress and room to lie down and rest. | Home Office | |
| 9 | In locations where detentions are predictably frequent or scheduled in advance, we recommend that a selection of fresh fruit is available for those detained. We appreciate this is not necessarily viable in some port locations where detentions are less frequent and unpredictable. Some STHFs have water readily available for people who are detained, either through a water dispenser or bottled water, so that people can drink water without needing to ask. We recommend all STHFs do the same. | Home Office | |
| 10 | In general, we are satisfied that sufficient food choices for different tastes, cultural, religious or medical food requirements are available although we found a significant exception to this on one of our port visits. We recommend all STHFs have arrangements in place that give adequate choices that recognise different food requirements. | Home Office | |
| 11 | We recommend that stays in excess of 24 hours and 36 hours are notified to the IMB in a monthly report with details of the exceptional circumstances. | Home Office | |
| 12 | We recommend the Home Office conduct an independent evaluation by a suitably qualified person or body of the effectiveness of the current interview format and practices and whether they can be made more effective. | Home Office | |
| 13 |
We recommend that all arrival interviews should be conducted in the purpose-built interview room in the facility, with privacy and with participants seated in comfort and speaking at eye level. We regard this recommendation is vital for safety as the purpose of the interview is to discover and identify risk factors relating to sensitive and personal circumstances such as whether a person is suffering from PTSD or has been the victim of sexual abuse, modern slavery or other exploitation.
Response
In meetings with centre managers since the end of the reporting period, there has been a constructive response to our concerns and we are aware that active consideration is being given to this recommendation. |
Other | |
| 14 | We recommend that the availability or waiting times for shared facilities at Swinderby RSTHF are monitored if and when larger numbers of residents are present and such facilities are expanded should the need arise. We are concerned that the dining area seating capacity, IT and games provision and language translation desktop phones will be insufficient should there be higher numbers of men housed at the RSTHF. | Other | |
| 15 | We recommend that the choice of magazines and reading material be reviewed to reflect what residents would prefer, ideally getting resident feedback to inform the choice. | Other | |
| 16 | We recommend that the contractual arrangement between the Home Office’s transport contractor and these Border Force locations be clarified and, if it does not provide for this already, be extended to ensure that a transport service is available for all port and airport STHFs to be able to transfer people into residential immigration detention facilities where needed. | Home Office | |
| 17 | In locations where detentions are predictably frequent or scheduled in advance, we recommend that a selection of fresh fruit is available for those detained. We appreciate this is not necessarily viable in some port locations where detentions are less frequent and unpredictable. Some STHFs have water readily available for people who are detained, either through a water dispenser or bottled water, so that people can drink water without needing to ask. We recommend all STHFs do the same. | Other |
Other reports for North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber STHF
Report details
- Establishment
- North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber STHF
- Type
- Prison · Cat Immigration STHF
- Report year
- 2023
- Published
- 22 August 2023
- Recommendations
- 17
Population
| Operational capacity | 39 |
| Time out of cell | 18.0h/day |
Service providers
Facility management
Mitie Care & Custody
Healthcare
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust