Source · IMB Annual Report
Gatwick IRC
Year: 2021
Published: 23 Jun 2022
Type: IRC
Population: 107
Recommendations: 17
Key concerns
Positive findings
The 2021 report covers the first year of the combined Gatwick IRC (Brook House and Tinsley House) under merged IMB oversight and Serco management, with the year dominated by Covid-19 restrictions, unprecedented Channel crossing arrivals through Tinsley House, and ongoing Home Office case management failures leading to prolonged and often unnecessary detention. While Serco staff generally treated detained men with respect and compassion, systemic failings in mental health support, access to legal advice, property management, and Home Office communication remained serious and in many cases repeated concerns.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 0 | — |
| Use of force | 157 | — |
| Drug finds | 10 | — |
Positive findings
Serco introduced an improved standardised reception and induction process from April, including a house rules booklet in 22 languages with earlier Welfare team involvement. A new Vulnerable Residents meeting improved focus on individual vulnerability needs. Officers generally treated detained men with respect and dignity. Healthcare transitioned successfully to Practice Plus Group from September, with expanded services including podiatry and physiotherapy. Catering received largely positive feedback (66% positive). No deaths occurred at either centre in 2021. Self-harm and ACDT figures fell substantially from the exceptionally high 2020 levels.
Key concerns
Other
Repeated
No time limit on immigration detention; one man detained in Brook House for 343 days; 34% of population detained for over 10 weeks at year-end.
Mental Health
Repeated
Home Office Detention Gatekeeper not adequately preventing detention of men with serious mental health needs; two men sectioned under the Mental Health Act during 2021.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Frequent involuntary wing moves in Brook House due to Covid cohorting, contributing to increasing tension and complaints of being treated 'like cattle'.
Other
Poor mobile phone reception in Brook House confirmed by expert report, severely undermining access to legal advice.
Other
Repeated
53% of men leaving Brook House in 2021 were released rather than removed, raising questions about the lawfulness of their initial detention.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Complaints process not operating fairly: 13% success rate, 20% withdrawal rate, 20-working-day response time, and frontline officers as investigators.
Other
Systemic loss of detained men's property between Dover and Tinsley House; no effective tracing system and generic, boilerplate responses to enquiries.
Safety
Repeated
51 age disputes between May and December 2021; Home Office systems not adequate to prevent children from being detained.
Other
Repeated
Bail accommodation delays leaving men in detention beyond bail grant; 8% of Brook House population awaiting accommodation in mid-December.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
41% of Tinsley House departures between 9pm and 7am; groups of 43 and 37 men released at 23:58 and 00:30 on separate nights.
Safety
Repeated
AAR, ACDT and Rule 35 policies unreformed despite recommendations in 2019 and 2020 reports; new AAR paperwork on hold with no timeline for change.
Mental Health
Repeated
Mental health support insufficient; psychology services unavailable for most of 2021; use of force to prevent self-harm rose to 28% of all UoF incidents.
Healthcare
Repeated
Planned dental suite at Brook House still not operational by 31 December 2021 despite longstanding recommendation.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Insufficient vocational training at Brook House; virtual college limited to eight short courses with low uptake.
Segregation
Use of Rule 40 as a blanket measure to facilitate removal on charter flights questioned as to legality, including for 8 men on Jamaica charter in November.
Segregation
De facto separation via informal 'Rule 15' — men held in CSU beyond Rule 40 expiry due to Covid-related placement difficulties — no legal basis identified.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduce a time limit for immigration detention (repeated from 2018, 2019 and 2020). Repeated | Home Office | |
| 2 | There should be some supplementary basic information provided by the Home Office on the steps in the asylum claim process that arrivals will go through while held in the RSTHF. The Home Office should follow the suggestion in paragraph 8 of Detention Services Order 06/2013 to repeat the important basic information through use of a format such as posters and leaflets (section 4.1). Repeated | Home Office | |
| 3 | Home Office and Serco should consider how the perceptions of the detained men about their safety can be collected consistently through the year and used as a meaningful tool for improving the centres' management (section 4.3). | Home Office | |
| 4 | As we have recommended for the past two years, there should be a full review of Adults at Risk (AAR), ACDT and Rule 35 policy and procedure (section 4.4). Repeated | Home Office | |
| 5 | The role of the Detention Gatekeeper should be reviewed, in particular its effectiveness in preventing men with significant mental health issues or vulnerabilities from being detained (section 4.4), and psychological support provided on-site in the Gatwick centres should be increased (section 6.3). | Home Office | |
| 6 | Operation of the process for complaints against Serco should be reviewed, including factors behind withdrawal rates, and this should consider changes such as introducing specialist teams to handle complaints, shortening the time for responses, and whether contractual penalties for substantiated complaints can be modified (section 5.7). Repeated | Home Office | |
| 7 | Suitable systems and organisation should be put in place to avoid detained men's property being lost at Dover or en route to Gatwick, and to find it rapidly if it is lost or misplaced (section 5.8). | Home Office | |
| 8 | Proactive engagement processes should be instituted and communication should be improved so that detained men are kept adequately informed of the progress of their immigration and asylum cases and bail applications (section 7.2). Repeated | Home Office | |
| 9 | Suitable technical equipment should be installed in Brook House to provide adequate mobile phone access for the detained men to ensure that they have meaningful access to advice from their solicitors and contact with their families (sections 7.2.4, 7.3). | Home Office | |
| 10 | Home Office should work with the Legal Aid Agency law firms and Serco to ensure a return to fixed time and on-site in-person appointments for detained men (section 7.2.4). | Home Office | |
| 11 | Training should be strengthened for frontline staff, especially in Tinsley House, to help ensure that potentially under-age individuals are identified and feel able to challenge the age imputed to them (section 4.4.3). | Governor / Director | |
| 12 | While we recognise that controls are needed to manage Covid risks, the Board considers that more could be done to ensure uptake of educational opportunities at Brook House (section 7.1). | Governor / Director | |
| 13 | The Board believes that some activities, such as English language classes, should be offered to men detained in Tinsley House even when it is a RSTHF (section 7.1). | Governor / Director | |
| 14 | There are insufficient opportunities for detained men to acquire vocational skills which might assist them on return or release. The vocational training programmes available at Brook House should be reviewed and expanded. In particular, while the Board welcomes the introduction of online Virtual College courses, their range and relevance to the centre's population should be improved (section 7.1). Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 15 | Serco should work with the Legal Aid Agency law firms and the Home Office to ensure a return to fixed time and on-site in-person appointments for detained men (section 7.2.4). | Governor / Director | |
| 16 | Systems and training should be improved, or additional resource provided if necessary, to ensure adequate and effective monitoring of men whose physical or mental condition may be deteriorating (sections 6.1, 6.3). Repeated | NHS / Healthcare Provider | |
| 17 | The planned dental suite should be implemented and on-site dental services begun (section 6.2). Repeated | NHS / Healthcare Provider |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (incl. laundry, showers) | 1 | 1 |
| Conduct of staff and detained men (incl. bullying) | 6 | 1 |
| Covid measures | 19 | 0 |
| Equality | 0 | 0 |
| Escorts | 1 | 1 |
| Finance | 0 | 2 |
| Food and kitchens | 11 | 1 |
| Health (physical, mental, social care) | 21 | 17 |
| Immigration case (incl. access to legal advice) | 46 | 20 |
| Letters, faxes, visits, phones, internet access | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 0 | 1 |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment | 5 | 3 |
| Property within centre | 3 | 0 |
| Purposeful activity (education, paid work, training, library) | 4 | 0 |
| Use of force, removal from association | 1 | 1 |
Other reports for Gatwick IRC
Report details
- Establishment
- Gatwick IRC
- Type
- IRC
- Report year
- 2021
- Published
- 23 June 2022
- Responsible body
- Gatwick IRC
- Recommendations
- 17
Population
| Population | 107 |
| Operational capacity | 610 |
Service providers
Detention management
Serco Ltd
Healthcare (January-August 2021)
G4S Health Services Ltd
Healthcare (September-December 2021)
Practice Plus Group
Immigration detention legal support
Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID)
Mental health (subcontracted, until November 2021)
Elysium Healthcare
Substance misuse (until August 2021)
The Forward Trust
Welfare and legal support
Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group (GDWG)