Short-term holding facilities managed by Border Force
Short-Term Holding Facility
Source · Immigration detention inspections
Immigration Detention Inspections
43 inspections
30 facilities
Avg safety 2.8
Avg respect 3.0
5 poor/not sufficient
HMIP Healthy Establishment assessments of 30 Immigration Removal Centres and Short-Term Holding Facilities. 43 inspections tracked. Data from hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk.
Key insights.
HMIP inspects IRCs using the same Healthy Establishment framework as prisons, scoring Safety, Respect, Activities, and Preparation for removal/release on a 1–4 scale.
5 of 43 inspections recorded safety scores of "Poor" or "Not sufficiently good" — indicating serious concerns about detainee welfare.
Highest-rated facility in the latest inspection is Dungavel IRC (Safety: 4/4); lowest-rated is Harmondsworth IRC (Safety: 1/4).
Direction of change: 2 improved, 2 declined in safety since the previous inspection.
Post-2022, HMIP shifted from numbered recommendations to key concerns (up to 15 per report). Across 43 inspections, 163 concerns have been raised. The Home Office responds via Service Improvement Plans.
Score distribution & trend
Safety score distribution
Read chart figures as a table
| Safety grade | Inspections |
|---|---|
| Poor | 1 |
| Not suff. | 4 |
| Reasonably good | 5 |
| Good | 3 |
Average safety score by year
Read chart figures as a table
| Year | Mean safety score (1–4) | Scored inspections |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3.0 | 1 |
| 2021 | 3.0 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2.33 | 3 |
| 2023 | 2.5 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1.5 | 2 |
| 2025 | 3.75 | 4 |
Facilities at a glance
| Facility | Safety | Respect | Activities | Removal prep | Trend | Last inspected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmondsworth IRC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ↓ Declined | Feb 2024 |
| Brook House IRC | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ↓ Declined | Aug 2024 |
| Yarl's Wood IRC | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | Jun 2023 |
| Colnbrook IRC | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ↑ Improved | Jan 2025 |
| Morton Hall IRC | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | — | Oct 2019 |
| Tinsley House IRC | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | Apr 2023 |
| Derwentside IRC | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Unchanged | Sep 2025 |
| Dungavel House IRC | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | — | Aug 2025 |
| Dungavel IRC | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | ↑ Improved | Aug 2025 |
| Scores: 4 = Good, 3 = Reasonably good, 2 = Not sufficiently good, 1 = Poor. — = not scored (IRP or STHF assessment). | ||||||
Related inquiry:
Brook House Inquiry
— the statutory public inquiry into alleged mistreatment of detainees at Brook House IRC in 2017.
HMIP inspections of Brook House are tracked here; the inquiry's formal recommendations are tracked separately.
Inspection records
Derwentside IRC
Immigration Removal Centre
Safety: 2
Respect: 3
Activities: 3
Removal prep: 3
Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre
Immigration Removal Centre
Short-term holding facilities at Western Jet Foil, Lydd Airport and Manston
Short-Term Holding Facility
Brook House IRC
Immigration Removal Centre
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activities: 2
Removal prep: 3
Brook House Immigration Removal Centre
Immigration Removal Centre
Colnbrook IRC
Immigration Removal Centre
Safety: 2
Respect: 3
Activities: 2
Removal prep: 2
Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre
Immigration Removal Centre
Detention of migrants at Dover and Folkestone
Short-Term Holding Facility
Residential short-term holding facilities
Short-Term Holding Facility
Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre
Immigration Removal Centre
Dungavel House IRC
Immigration Removal Centre
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activities: 3
Removal prep: 3
Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre
Immigration Removal Centre
Dover short-term holding facilities
Short-Term Holding Facility
Immigration removal centres
Immigration Removal Centre
Short-term holding facilities managed by Border Force
Short-Term Holding Facility
UK short-term holding facilities at France-UK Borders
Short-Term Holding Facility
Morton Hall IRC
Immigration Removal Centre
Safety: 3
Respect: 3
Activities: 2
Removal prep: 3