Recommendation 1
Recommendation (the Board's words)Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Source text verified
Independent Monitoring Boards annual report
Gatwick IRC
Report year 2023
Published 29 Aug 2024
Type IRC, category IRC
Responsible body Gatwick IRC
15 recommendations
The summary and positive findings below were written from the report by an AI model. The Board's own wording is in the report linked above.
Summary
Summary written by this site (AI-generated)The Gatwick IRC experienced a deterioration in safety during 2023, marked by increased violence, assaults on staff, and a rise in use of force incidents, partly attributed to a changing detainee population. Key safeguards for vulnerable individuals, such as Rule 34 and Rule 35 assessments, were found to be insufficient or subject to unacceptable delays. The report highlighted significant concerns regarding inadequate mental health provision, unfair regime practices including prolonged lock-in times, and a lack of effective pathways for release for detainees granted bail.
Positive findings
Summary written by this site (AI-generated)The Board welcomed the Brook House Inquiry report and its recommendations. They commended individual staff and teams, especially those working with vulnerable men, welfare, social workers, education, and religious affairs, for their commitment and de-escalation skills. Improvements in reception and induction processes were noted, as were positive initiatives for men with complex needs and attention to special dietary requirements. Positive changes included challenging the default use of constant watch for self-harm risk.
Recommendations
- Recommendation 1Addressed to Home Office
- Recommendation 2Addressed to Home Office
- Recommendation 3Addressed to Home Office
Key concerns
- Key concern 1Safety
- Key concern 2Regime/Time Out of Cell
- Key concern 3Safety
Recommendations 15 items · 6 repeated
Recommendations were extracted from the report by AI, and responses and their status from the ministerial response by AI. Each recommendation shows whether its wording has been checked against the report.
Recommendation 2
Recommendation (the Board's words)In conjunction with NHS England, develop an agreed script that explains both the physical and mental health aspects of Rule 34 appointments and their relevance to continued detention. Require that the agreed script on the purpose of Rule 34 appointments is translated into all languages necessary for people detained in IRCs.
Source text verified
Recommendation 3
Recommendation (the Board's words)Any review of the use of force policy in immigration detention should require that use of fully kitted control-and-restraint teams in planned interventions for the use of force should be risk assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Source text verified
Recommendation 4
Recommendation (the Board's words)Review the operation of the process for handling complaints against Serco, including factors behind withdrawal rates, considering changes such as introducing specialist teams to handle complaints, shortening the time for responses, and whether contractual penalties can be modified.
Source text verified
Recommendation 5
Recommendation (the Board's words)Share the contents of complaints – and their respopnses – against the Home Office.
Source text verified
Recommendation 6
Recommendation (the Board's words)DET should maintain regular surgeries in both centres, with increased outreach to ensure men are aware of them and increase their presence in the centres to improve accountability and men’s access to information.
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Recommendation 7
Recommendation (the Board's words)Visits by caseowners to the centres, particularly Brook House, should take place routinely to improve their understanding of the context and impact of their decisions and improve men’s access to decision-makers.
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Recommendation 8
Recommendation (the Board's words)A trauma-informed approach should be undertaken throughout both centres, including psychological first-aid training for staff, particularly those who work with the most vulnerable people, e.g. those on E wing.
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Recommendation 9
Recommendation (the Board's words)Use of fully kitted control-and-restraint teams in planned interventions for the use of force should be risk assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Source text verified
Recommendation 10
Recommendation (the Board's words)Reduce the prevalence of the use of handcuffs on escort by striking a better balance between security and the risk of harm or distress to the detained man.
Source text verified
Recommendation 11
Recommendation (the Board's words)More focus on vocational training that can support men on removal or release.
Source text verified
Recommendation 12
Recommendation (the Board's words)In conjunction with Home Office Immigration Enforcement, develop an agreed script that explains both the physical and mental health aspects of Rule 34 appointments and their relevance to continued detention.
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Recommendation 13
Recommendation (the Board's words)Require healthcare professionals and staff to use the agreed script consistently in all IRCs, particularly in initial reception healthcare appointments.
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Recommendation 14
Recommendation (the Board's words)Review the complaints’ management systems for the healthcare unit to ensure there is adequate accountability to the men using the services.
Source text verified
Recommendation 15
Recommendation (the Board's words)Share the contents of complaints against the healthcare unit, having redacted clinical information, and responses to them.
Source text verified
Key concerns 18 items
Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.
Key concern 1
Safety in both Brook House and Tinsley House has deteriorated over the course of 2023. This is evidenced by increased violence, including altercations between detained men and assaults on staff.
Key concern 2
Anti-social behaviour was too often poorly handled at Brook House.
Key concern 3
The Detention Gatekeeper has not been robust enough in its safeguarding purpose of protecting vulnerable people from being detained.
Key concern 4
There has been continued failure to use Detention Centre Rule 35 to its fullest extent and in accordance with its clear words.
Key concern 5
Wait times for Rule 35 appointments are unacceptably long.
Key concern 6
A disproportionate burden of the care of men with serious mental ill health falls on officers who are not trained or adequately supported to manage such complex needs.
Key concern 7
Detention without a time limit is unfair and inhumane. The Board sees the impact of delays and the failings in accountability and communication, both in casework generally and in the release process in particular.
Key concern 8
The Board considers increased lock-in times before lunch and evening meals to be unfair and detrimental to the wellbeing of the men.
Key concern 9
It is not fair treatment to have a blanket policy of using fully kitted control-and-restraint teams in every planned intervention for the use of force. Almost every man escorted on a hospital visit was handcuffed in the last six months of the year.
Key concern 10
There is inadequate staffing of healthcare and a lack of continuity caused by over-reliance on agency staff. This leads to a failure to provide necessary care such as psychological interventions.
Key concern 11
There is a wide gap between the level of need for mental health support and what has been provided, both in terms of low-level interventions (anxiety, depression) and more severe presentations. Mental health provision has been inadequate to the needs of the men.
Key concern 12
Failure by the Home Office to establish pathways to release by working with its counterparts in the Probation Service resulted in significant anxiety among the detained men and even despair on occasion. It unnecessarily extended time in detention for too many people who had already been granted immigration bail.
Key concern 13
People detained at Gatwick did not always have meaningful access to legal advice throughout 2023.
Key concern 14
Even fewer complaints against Serco were upheld this year. The functioning of the complaints process does not give confidence that it is fair.
Key concern 15
Payment of £1 per hour to detained people for work being done is not fair and does not reflect the value of the work. Similar considerations apply to the failure to increase the daily allowance of £0.71 paid to detained people.
Key concern 16
This year saw an increase in the presence of substances, particularly at Brook House. Psychoactive substances were particularly prevalent in the early part of the reporting year. There have been some indications, including from detained men, that some staff are involved in the supply.
Key concern 17
The Board is concerned about the use of Detention Centre Rule 40 (where the detained person is separated from others) when a man refuses to share a room. We do not believe that it is justified in many cases.
Key concern 18
Brook House and Tinsley House are showing their age, and the Board has commented with some frequency in 2023 on the griminess of many parts of both centres. Men have consistently raised concerns about showers, toilets and residential laundries, particularly at Tinsley House. Both centres have had issues with drainage and bad odours. Laundries often have clothing piled up and a backlog of people waiting to use machines, and men have sometimes mentioned that clothing has gone missing when unsupervised. Men complain of airlessness. This is exacerbated by pervasive and unchecked smoking and vaping both in common areas and in rooms.
Safety statistics
Incidents during the reporting year.
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | not recorded |
| Prisoner assaults | 82 | 33 |
| Assaults on staff | 146 | 55 |
| Use of force | 599 | not recorded |
Population
| Operational capacity | 612 |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (including transfers) | 16 | 13 |
| Discipline | 1 | 0 |
| Healthcare | 35 | 40 |
| Legal issues | 6 | 9 |
| Money | 1 | 3 |
| Other (including questions/issues not covered above) | 26 | 21 |
| Property (including lost/damaged property) | 4 | 2 |
| Staff behaviour | 1 | 1 |
| Time in detention | 48 | 26 |
| Total | 138 | 115 |
Report details
- Establishment
- Gatwick IRC
- Type
- IRC, category IRC
- Report year
- 2023
- Published
- 29 August 2024
- Responsible body
- Gatwick IRC
- Recommendations
- 15
Service providers
| Service | Provider |
|---|---|
| Centre Management | Serco |
| Detainee Support | Samaritans |
| Medical, mental health and substance misuse services | Practice Plus Group |