Recommendation 1
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Source · IMB Annual Report
Yarl’s Wood
AI-generated report summary Yarl’s Wood IRC experienced a shift to a male-only population, including a significant increase in foreign national offenders, during the reporting year. The Board noted an increase in violence, self-harm incidents, and use of force, alongside persistent challenges with staff recruitment, retention, and communication due to language barriers. While healthcare provision was largely commended, concerns remain regarding the length of detention, delays in bail releases, and the need for more comprehensive planning for release and resettlement, particularly for FNOs.
Year: 2022
Published: 7 Jul 2023
Type: Prison · Cat IRC
Population: 423
Recommendations: 7
Key concerns
Positive findings
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 0 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 18 | 16 |
| ACCT cases opened | 143 | 92 |
| Prisoner assaults | 15 | — |
| Assaults on staff | 14 | — |
| Use of force | 53 | 23 |
Positive findings
AI-generated summaryYarl’s Wood is generally a safe environment and detained persons are treated fairly and humanely. Healthcare provision by NHFT continues to be of good quality and staffing in mental healthcare has been maintained. The accuracy of information on IS91 forms has improved, and initial assessments for under 18s have decreased. Officers respond confidently to self-harm incidents, and a new multifaith room has opened. Staff demonstrate supportive and caring behaviour, and the centre has increased diversity forums and cultural events.
Key concerns
There has been an increase in violence this year. There have been physical and verbal altercations between residents. There have also been physical and verbal assaults on staff, with at least one resulting in serious injury.
Foreign National Offenders There are increasing numbers of foreign national offenders (FNOs) in the population with 513 arriving from prison during this reporting year after completing their sentence, rising to 62% of the population in December. These are men who have completed a prison sentence, and have been identified as subject to removal or deportation. The Board observes that there is no evidence of starting the removal process in prison. This results in another detention with increasingly long lengths of stay.
The Board has observed several multidisciplinary team (MDT) reviews and other occasions when staff have struggled to get an interpreter in a timely way.
Some men who were granted bail were then not released for a considerable time, either due to a lack of suitable accommodation, or considerable delays in their accommodation being checked (see section 7.2).
There is much evidence that the length of time and uncertainty takes its toll on the men’s mental health and has resulted in violence, depression and self-harm.
The IMB also understands that any ACDT paperwork only goes with men being moved from Yarl’s Wood IRC to another IRC, not with men going into accommodation in the community. This also raises concerns about men with vulnerable mental health being unsupported.
Some of the residents attending stated that they didn’t feel safe because they felt the centre was overwhelmed by another dominant ethnic group.
A decline in standards of cleanliness and tidiness around the centre, particularly during periods of high occupancy.
Complaints about the food, reflecting cultural preferences and general frustration, and issues with food quality (e.g., mouldy bread).
Source wording under review
A notable increase in the use of IRC rules 40 and 42 (separation), often becoming a default option for non-compliant or aggressive behaviour stemming from frustration over case progress and length of detention.
Source wording under review
There were times however when lack of experience or the pressure of the moment caused staff to use inappropriate vocabulary or make inappropriate comments when talking to the men. This also contributed to the aggravation of an issue rather than de-escalation. The IMB commented on this in a rota report and there were three formal separate complaints about such incidents, one from many detained persons who saw it.
4 Recruitment problems also had an impact on the DET team’s capacity to support detained persons with their cases.
During rota visits, the Board continued to speak to people, particularly the RSTHF-detained men arriving from the south coast, who did not really understand where they were, why or what would happen to them next. At times this was because of the large number of men arriving at the same time, and the need to process them has overridden the time for induction.
There have been complaints by detained persons that their property, particularly phones, has been kept at police stations and not forwarded to them at the centre. This has caused distress and on one occasion a detained person was unable to let his relatives know that he had safely arrived.
In conversations with detained persons on the Board’s monitoring visits and in applications made to the IMB, there has been a consistent theme around lack of feedback and progress on individual casework. This is despite the DET team providing surgeries in the units and being the conduit between the detained persons and the case working teams. This suggests general frustration with the length of the detained person’s detention. The Board noted that delays in removal and bail release have led to self-harm attempts, violent behaviours and written and verbal complaints to the IMB.
The Board has noticed an increase in the length of stay, with 29% having a stay of more than one month or 28 days. Four detained persons have had a length of detention of over a year, and one more than two years.
Detained persons share the 30-minute slots because of the shortage.
However, beyond some funds for transport from the airport it is our experience that no other planning for the welfare of detainees returning home is undertaken.
For individuals released into the UK there are careful checks about the suitability of addresses and sponsors by H.M. Prison and Probation Service. This service is known to be under considerable pressure which can lead to delays in release into the UK often with deleterious effects on the mental health of detainees.
Inhumane assistance provided to a physically disabled person with two broken arms being removed to Switzerland, raising concerns about lack of support at the airport or on the plane.
Source wording under review
Recommendations
Recommendation 2
Start the removal process for FNOs in prison before they are transferred from HMIP to the IRC estate.
Recommendation 3
Reduce length of stay by improving processes relating to asylum status and/or removal to reduce length of stay.
Recommendation 4
Review and streamline the arrangements for the provision of suitable accommodation for detained persons granted bail to reduce waiting times (see section 7.2).
Recommendation 5
The Board recommends that the culture of professional conduct and behaviour is maintained through the officers’ training, inductions and ongoing review and monitoring.
Recommendation 6
Keep staff recruitment and retention as a priority.
Recommendation 7
The Board recommends that NHFT continues to maintain the excellent staffing levels and services of the last year.
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation including laundry, showers | 0 | 0 |
| Equality | 0 | 0 |
| Escorts | 0 | 0 |
| Finance including detained person’s centre accounts | 0 | 0 |
| Food and kitchens | 1 | 1 |
| Health including physical, mental, social care | 5 | 0 |
| Issues relating to detained person’s immigration case, including access to legal advice | 17 | 2 |
| Letters, faxes, visits, phones, internet access | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 4 | 1 |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 0 | 0 |
| Property within centre | 1 | 0 |
| Purposeful activity including education, paid work, training, library, other activities | 0 | 0 |
| Staff/detained persons conduct, including bullying | 2 | 1 |
| Use of force, removal from association | 1 | 0 |
Other reports for Yarl’s Wood
· Self-harm 16
· Concerns
· Self-harm 12
· Concerns