Detention timescales
Lack of clear and consistent instructions and guidance regarding timescales for detention, impacting risk management.
Source spread
Where this theme appears
This theme appears across 17 independent accountability sources, so the source mix matters as much as the headline total.
20 inquiry recs
8 PFD reports
38 committee recs
1 CQC action
3 PPO recs
1 IOPC rec
264 IMB recs
6 IMB reports
1 Article 2 learning point
73 detention investigation recs
6 PHSO decisions
2 LGO/SPSO decisions
6 CJINI reports
1 CQC enforcement action
1 EHRC compliance action
Browse by source
Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Inquiry recommendations(20)
159 — Reporter to check continued detention
Recommendation: The Reporter on being informed of the execution of a Child Protection Order should check the propriety of the continued detention of a child (18.45) but should also proceed with his statutory functions under Sections 38 and 39 in light …
Unknown
145 — Single overall limit on detention
Recommendation: A single overall time limit on the detention of a child whether under Section 37 or Section 40 or both Sections of the 1968 Act should be introduced (18.25-26).
Unknown
BAHA-35 — Detention Timescales Consistency
Recommendation: Theatre level detention instructions and guidance should be reviewed to ensure that references to timescales for detention are clear and consistent.
Gov response: I can inform this House that I am accepting in principle all of his recommendations with one reservation.
Accepted in part
10 — Clarify authorisation for Rule 40 and Rule 42 segregation
Recommendation: The Home Office must amend, as a matter of urgency, Detention Services Order 02/2017: Removal from Association (Detention Centre Rule 40) and Temporary Confinement (Detention Centre Rule 42) and, if necessary, the Detention Services Operating Standards Manual for Immigration Service …
Gov response: 6.5.1. The Home Office has published an interim DSO to provide staff with further clarity on the use of Rule 40 (removal from association) and Rule 42 (temporary confinement) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
25 — Ensure senior manager presence and accessibility to staff
Recommendation: Contractors operating immigration removal centres must ensure that senior managers are regularly present and visible within the immigration removal centre and are accessible to more junior detention staff.
Gov response: 6.8.1. The report findings in relation to contracted service provider staff behaviour and culture were shocking and unacceptable. Significant changes have been implemented to better define operational staffing levels, introduce accredited training, a code of …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
24 — Mandatory staff training on mental health and trauma-informed approaches
Recommendation: The Home Office, in conjunction with contractors, must ensure that all relevant immigration removal centre staff receive mandatory introductory and annual training on: mental health; race and diversity; a trauma-informed approach; their own resilience; drug awareness; and the purpose of …
Gov response: 6.8.2. The ITC for all new contracted service provider staff in IRCs is undergoing a full review to ensure understanding of fundamental subjects including AaR, mental health awareness, racial awareness and safeguarding children. There will …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
23 — Quarterly assessment of staffing levels against population needs
Recommendation: The Home Office and contractors operating immigration removal centres must ensure that there is ongoing assessment of staffing levels (at least on a quarterly basis), so that the level of staff present within each centre is appropriate for the size …
Gov response: 6.8.4. Contract requirements across IRC contracted service providers are being reviewed to provide a policy on safe staffing levels and appropriate mitigations where staff capacity is temporarily an issue.
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
22 — Update healthcare complaints handling guidance
Recommendation: The Home Office must review and update Detention Services Order 03/2015: Handling of Complaints to ensure that appropriate guidance is given to healthcare providers on the investigation and handling of complaints specific to the provision of healthcare in an immigration …
Gov response: 6.9.1. A comprehensive review into complaints, including medical complaints, and whistle blowing processes is being undertaken. This has involved a review of the existing DSOs and improving the visibility of communications about and accessibility to …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
21 — Update mental vulnerability and mental capacity DSO guidance
Recommendation: The Home Office must review and update Detention Services Order 04/2020: Mental Vulnerability and Immigration Detention: Non-Clinical Guidance to set out comprehensive guidance for detention and healthcare staff where there are concerns that a detained person is suffering mental ill …
Gov response: 6.7.3. The Home Office and DHSC are considering the policy around detained people with mental ill health as part of a wider piece of work around vulnerable adults and, along with NHS England, are scoping …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
20 — Update guidance on fit to fly and fit for detention medical assessments
Recommendation: The Home Office must review and update Detention Services Order 01/2016: The Protection, Use and Sharing of Medical Information Relating to People Detained Under Immigration Powers, to ensure that guidance given to GPs working in the immigration detention estate in …
Gov response: 6.7.2. Within IRCs, NHS England are responsible for commissioning a healthcare service consummate to that which is available within the community. Although fit to fly letters are a medico legal practice – and outside of …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
19 — Healthcare staff guidance and training on use of force incidents
Recommendation: The Home Office must ensure that guidance is issued to healthcare staff in immigration removal centres clarifying their role in use of force incidents. It must liaise as necessary with NHS England and any relevant medical regulators. The Home Office …
Gov response: Following full consideration three recommendations (recommendations 7, 19 and 30) have been rejected.
Not accepted
18 — Update DSO on food and fluid refusal management and reporting
Recommendation: The Home Office must, as a matter of urgency, update Detention Services Order 03/2017: Care and Management of Detained Individuals Refusing Food and/or Fluid, to ensure that it deals with: food and fluid refusal being clearly and directly linked to …
Gov response: 6.7.1. An update to the DSO in relation to refusing food and fluid has been published. It covers the requirement to link food and fluid refusal with consideration of the Rule 35 process and whether …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
17 — Mandatory use of force debrief training and multi-level review process
Recommendation: The Home Office must ensure, as a matter of urgency, that training is delivered on how to conduct an effective use of force incident debrief, ensuring that issues of detained person and staff welfare, as well as training needs, are …
Gov response: 6.6.3. The Home Office has been working closely with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure expert input into consideration of these recommendations. …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
16 — Independent review of use of force on mentally ill detainees
Recommendation: The Home Office must urgently commission an independent review (with the power to make recommendations) of use of force on detained people with mental ill health within immigration removal centres. The review must consider: how, when and whether to use …
Gov response: 6.6.3. The Home Office has been working closely with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure expert input into consideration of these recommendations. …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
15 — New comprehensive use of force detention services order
Recommendation: The Home Office must introduce, as a matter of urgency, a new and comprehensive detention services order to address use of force in immigration removal centres. The detention services order must include the following issues: the permissible justifications for the …
Gov response: 6.6.3. The Home Office has been working closely with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure expert input into consideration of these recommendations. …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
14 — Prohibit handcuffing behind back while seated
Recommendation: The Home Office and contractors operating immigration removal centres must ensure that all staff are aware that the technique of handcuffing detained people with their hands behind their back while seated is not permitted, given its association with positional asphyxia.
Gov response: 6.6.3. The Home Office has been working closely with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure expert input into consideration of these recommendations. …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
13 — Quarterly auditing of Rule 40 and Rule 42 use
Recommendation: The Home Office must regularly (and at least quarterly) audit the use of Rule 40 and Rule 42 across the immigration detention estate, in order to identify trends, any training needs and required improvements. In addition, HM Inspectorate of Prisons …
Gov response: 6.5.1. The Home Office has published an interim DSO to provide staff with further clarity on the use of Rule 40 (removal from association) and Rule 42 (temporary confinement) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
12 — Annual training on Rule 40 and Rule 42 segregation powers
Recommendation: The Home Office and contractors operating immigration removal centres must provide regular training, at least annually, on the operation of Rule 40 and Rule 42 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, which must include: that Rules 40 and 42 are …
Gov response: 6.5.1. The Home Office has published an interim DSO to provide staff with further clarity on the use of Rule 40 (removal from association) and Rule 42 (temporary confinement) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
11 — Review E Wing suitability for vulnerable detainees
Recommendation: The Home Office and the current operator of Brook House must keep under review the appropriateness of the multi-purpose use of E Wing, particularly in relation to its suitability as a location to detain vulnerable people.
Gov response: 6.5.2. The multi-purpose use of Eden Wing at Brook House, and any potential risks associated with co-location of vulnerable individuals with those who may have been removed from association, is under consideration. Any learning will …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
9 — Ensure effective operation and auditing of all Rule 35 limbs
Recommendation: The Home Office must, across the immigration detention estate, assure itself that all three limbs of Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 (reports by a medical practitioner where: (i) it is likely that a detained person's health would …
Gov response: 6.4.1. There are a number of safeguards underpinning detention decisions which are highlighted in this response. In June 2016 the Home Office introduced the detention gatekeeper who review the suitability of individuals for detention, with …
Accepted, fully or in part (not specified)
Prevention of Future Deaths reports(8)
Billy Paul Thomas Salton
Concerns: The coroner identified delays in custody progression due to unstaffed overnight processing units, a lack of understanding among staff regarding observation levels, and inadequate record-keeping and handovers between shifts, along with issues in monitoring CCTV cells.
Response (Medacs): • Medacs confirmed that new healthcare staff are now required to sign to acknowledge awareness of policy and procedure locations. • A new procedure, 'Pre and post clinical assessment guidelines … (AI summary)
Response (Greater Manchester Police): • An ongoing review of divisional policing, 'Transforming Divisional Policing', has been asked to identify ways to process detainees more efficiently. • The review aims to reduce the periods of … (AI summary)
Overdue
Rubel Ahmed
Concerns: The coroner raised concerns about the continued practice of locking detainees in rooms overnight, contrary to previous recommendations. The report also identified deficiencies in staff detention awareness training, communication of detainee circumstances, and protected time for personal officers.
Response (Home Office): • A comprehensive Detention Awareness training package is in place for all staff, and work is underway to implement a programme of regular refresher training. • The use of electrical … (AI summary)
Overdue
Sarah Reed
Concerns: The coroner noted significant delays in obtaining fitness to plead reports for an individual remanded in custody, with a lack of clarity over which authority was responsible for commissioning them. This contributed to the individual's deteriorating mental state and an inappropriate reduction in observation frequency.
Response (CNWL NHS Trust): • The Trust updated its Standard Operating Procedures to ensure requests for psychiatric reports are communicated to consultants promptly. • A Local Operating Procedure for staff attendance at ACCT reviews … (AI summary)
Response (HM Prison and Probation Service): • HMCTS and the Judicial Office re-issued existing guidance on procedures for obtaining psychiatric reports in July 2017, and a working group has been established to consider new practice directions … (AI summary)
Overdue
Aram Mustafa
Concerns: The coroner identified a need for better systems to ensure organisations provide sufficient detail on safeguarding concerns and medical needs for individuals entering accommodation. There was also a concern about safeguarding matters not being logged with the hub if an individual was about to be deported.
Response (G4S): • G4S senior management participates in a monthly UKVI-led Senior Safeguarding working group to review individual safeguarding cases. • UHS, G4S's subcontractor, immediately alerts G4S to safeguarding concerns received from … (AI summary)
Response (Urban Housing): • Urban Housing reviewed its procedures and interactions with other service providers, attending a Multi-Agency Review. • Staff training has been conducted, and out-of-hours guidance for security staff has been … (AI summary)
Response (Government Legal Department): • First responders are being challenged to provide further detail on vulnerabilities when referring cases to the National Asylum Allocation Unit (NAAU). • A spreadsheet has been introduced to record … (AI summary)
Responded
Mark Culverhouse
Concerns: The coroner noted that a prisoner's release date was not calculated until after their recall, leading to unlawful detention. A process is required to calculate release dates before a recall decision to prevent similar unlawful imprisonments.
Response (HM Prison and Probation Service): • An alert flag was added to the National Offender Management Information System (NOMIS) to warn staff when there is unspent remand time on a prisoner’s record. • The sentence … (AI summary)
Responded
Anthony Fitzpatrick
Concerns: Healthcare professionals used inconsistent and subjective criteria for risk assessment, leading to variable and poorly understood risk grades. The coroner also noted a lack of adherence to online training materials and no plan to address these issues.
Overdue
Morgan-Rose Hart
Concerns: Concerns include an incomplete Trust investigation that missed key issues, unresolved policies regarding prohibited items like belts on the ward, and failures in escalating patient risk and responding to bathroom alerts.
Response (Essex County Council): • Essex County Council has made one solo bespoke registered Children's Home operational in Colchester and has tendered a second, which is awaiting Ofsted registration. • The Council is developing … (AI summary)
Response (Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust): • The Trust has convened a PSIRF Improvement Oversight Project Board and is updating its PSIRF Policy and Records Management Policy. • Configuration changes to the Oxevision system have been … (AI summary)
Response (Bindmans): • Bindmans identified an inaccuracy in EPUT's PFD response, stating that Morgan-Rose Hart was incorrectly described as an informal patient. • Bindmans provided evidence from records and witness statements to … (AI summary)
Responded
Owen Donnelly
Concerns: The coroner noted the availability of online information for constructing certain items and that possession of materials for these items is not a criminal offence, creating a risk until proposed legislation is enacted.
Response (Home Office): • The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is completing its passage through the House of Lords and is intended to achieve Royal Assent by the end of December. • … (AI summary)
Overdue
Select committee recommendations(38)
#15 —
Recommendation: The Government’s position is that clause 41 “clarifies” the law. However, the operational effect would appear to amount to retrospectively making it lawful to have detained persons liable to deportation. This does not comply with Article 5 ECHR, which requires …
Response attribution not verified
#11 —
Recommendation: Section 12 of the Illegal Migration Act modifies the common law position, making it for the Secretary of State, and not the courts, to determine what is a reasonable period of detention. We agree with our predecessor 62 Committee and …
Response attribution not verified
#136 —
Recommendation: recommendation The Government’s position is that clause 41 “clarifies” the law. However, the operational effect would appear to amount to retrospectively making it lawful to have detained persons liable to deportation. This does not comply with Article 5 ECHR, which …
Response attribution not verified
#8 —
Recommendation: 135. The denial of a remedy for unlawful detention also risks violating Article 5(5) and Article 13 ECHR (the right to an effective remedy). If individuals have been detained pending deportation between Stage 1 and Stage 2 171 UK Home …
Response attribution not verified
#133 —
Recommendation: However, Clause 41’s purpose is to provide a legal basis for the Home Office’s current practice of detaining people early in the deportation process, i.e. after a “Stage 1” deportation decision has been made, while the Secretary of State considers …
Response attribution not verified
#132 —
Recommendation: These provisions raise issues under Articles 5, 8, and 13 of the ECHR. Article 5 is engaged by this clause as those liable to deportation will be deprived of their liberty. Any interference with Article 5 is justified where it …
Response attribution not verified
#130 —
Recommendation: Despite the Government’s characterisation of this clause as clarificatory, the Impact Assessment makes clear that this involves retrospectively making it lawful to have detained persons (liable to deportation on the ground it was considered conducive to the public good) at …
Response attribution not verified
#129 —
Recommendation: The clause also amends section 51(2) of the Immigration Act 2016 (power to direct prison officer or prison custody officer to search for nationality documents) to “clarify” that the Secretary of State may direct a prison officer or prisoner custody …
Response attribution not verified
#127 —
Recommendation: Clause 41 amends the current powers contained in paragraph 2(2) to Schedule 3 of the IA 1971, which permits the Secretary of State to detain individuals liable to deportation on the grounds that their presence in the UK is not …
Response attribution not verified
#103 —
Recommendation: recommendation Section 12 of the Illegal Migration Act modifies the common law position, making it for the Secretary of State, and not the courts, to determine what is a reasonable period of detention. We agree with our predecessor Committee and …
Response attribution not verified
#101 —
Recommendation: Academics Dr Sabina Garahan and Dr Matthew Gillet argue, “by allowing detention for such period as ‘in the opinion of the Secretary of State’ is reasonably necessary, section 12(1)(b) conflicts with fundamental standards 133 Explanatory notes, para.44 134 There is …
Response attribution not verified
#99 —
Recommendation: Section 12 IMA modified the common law position to provide that it is for the Secretary of State, and not the courts, to determine what constitutes a reasonable period of detention. The previous Committee concluded that this change would result …
Response attribution not verified
#98 —
Recommendation: The Government currently has the power to detain individuals for an indefinite period of time pending their deportation and removal from the UK. With the exceptions of children and pregnant women,134 there are no statutory time limits on immigration detention.
Response attribution not verified
#97 —
Recommendation: The JCHR’s predecessor committee raised concerns in relation to some of the above-mentioned provisions. We remain concerned by section 12, section 29, section 59 and section 62 IMA. Section 12 IMA: immigration detention
Response attribution not verified
#95 —
Recommendation: Clause 38 of the Bill repeals most of the provisions of the IMA. However, a number of provisions will not be repealed: a. Section 12, expanding powers of immigration detention (in force) b. Section 29, strengthening the disqualification from modern …
Response attribution not verified
#15 —
Recommendation: Prisoners applying for early release on compassionate grounds should have their applications processed in an efficient and timely manner. This is especially important for terminally ill prisoners near the end of their lives. We recommend prisons identify a single member …
Response attribution not verified
#14 —
Recommendation: We recommend, however, that the Government investigate the reasons behind the relatively high level of remand into custody and explain the reasons behind that, particularly given the pressures on the custodial estate during the coronavirus outbreak.
Response attribution not verified
#11 —
Recommendation: We ask the Government to set out how many prisoners were actively considered for release under the scheme and the principal reasons why just over 5 per cent were in fact released early.
Gov response: As of 15 November, 262 prisoners have been released as part of the End of Custody Temporary Release (ECTR) scheme. The ECTR scheme was aimed at low-risk offenders approaching the end of their sentence, but …
Position Not Stated
#16 — Increasing remand lengths cause significant personal harm and risk of miscarriages of justice.
Recommendation: Written evidence submitted by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons stated that the length of time that people are remanded for and the extent to which this is changing is information that is not in the public domain. The Inspectorate’s evidence …
Response attribution not verified
#15 — Remand population has surged to a 50-year high, with many exceeding custody time limits.
Recommendation: The remand population has grown sharply in recent years. The number of people on remand in September 2024 was 17,600, 20% of the prison population, the highest level in 50 years, up from 9,602 (11% of the prison population) in …
Response attribution not verified
#10 —
Recommendation: We recognise the risk that permitting detention on the basis of autism or learning disabilities under Part 3 of the MHA whilst prohibiting it under Part 2 amounts to a difference in treatment falling under the prohibition on discrimination in …
Response attribution not verified
#14 —
Recommendation: Section 62 IMA should be amended, as recommended by our predecessor Committee, to make clear that the credibility of a claimant who has provided a reasonable excuse for their failure to provide a password or other methods of access requested …
Response attribution not verified
#10 —
Recommendation: The Committee welcome the Government’s decision to temporarily release pregnant women and women in prison with their children, whenever it is safe to do so. The Committee recognise that this cohort of women require specialist support in the community, but …
Gov response: During the pandemic we have operated a scheme under which prisoners in the following groups may be considered for Compassionate Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL): • Pregnant women; • Prisoners with their babies in custody …
Position Not Stated
#30 —
Recommendation: The consequences for children in care of the Supreme Court’s recent changes to the law on deprivation of liberty should be kept carefully under review. It is crucial that children who are held in conditions akin to confinement are not …
Response status not verified
#29 —
Recommendation: We appreciate that in certain circumstances, for welfare reasons, children in care may be deprived of their liberty. But every effort should be employed to offer support to children before depriving them of their liberty. Deprivation of liberty must be …
Response status not verified
#143 —
Recommendation: The current restrictions, set out in section 3(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1971, permit restrictions to be placed on individuals such as restrictions on the right to work and study, requirements to report to immigration officers, and residency requirements. The …
Response attribution not verified
#142 —
Recommendation: At Committee stage in the Commons, the Government added clause 43. This introduces an extension of the existing conditions that may be applied to any grant of limited leave to enter or remain in the UK under section 3(1) (c) …
Response attribution not verified
#134 —
Recommendation: This clause also engages Article 8 because it gives powers to obtain biometrics and search documents. An interference with this right must be in accordance with the law and proportionate to the pursuit of a legitimate aim. It is the …
Response attribution not verified
#100 —
Recommendation: Professor Sarah Singer told us: “[t]his is an example of the expansive power that is being given to the Home Secretary and the reduction of judicial scrutiny. If the judiciary is not able to scrutinise a detention decision for reasonableness …
Response attribution not verified
#18 —
Recommendation: We asked what the Department could learn from its analysis of late asylum claims to reduce the number of these. The NAO reported that the Department failed to complete 62% of the returns it planned from immigration detention in 2019, …
Response attribution not verified
#13 —
Recommendation: We asked the Department to account for the plummeting number of people it returns to their countries of origin. The Department claimed that the fall in returns was because of greater compliance with immigration rules, changes to the legal framework …
Response attribution not verified
#3 — Appoint a dedicated Director for Complex and Arbitrary Detentions with ancillary staff.
Recommendation: We recommend, once again, that a Director for Complex and Arbitrary Detentions is appointed with relevant ancillary staff in order to deliver consistency, improved partnerships with families, better coordination across Whitehall, as well as benefitting from greater authority and flexibility …
Response status not verified
#2 — Extend review to reassess all arbitrary detention cases involving British nationals in high-risk countries.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government extend its review to reassess all cases where British nationals have received opinions of arbitrary detention and are being held in countries where there is a history of torture of foreign detainees. • The review …
Response status not verified
#4 — FCDO's defensive culture undermines effective support for British nationals in arbitrary detention.
Recommendation: The case of Matthew Hedges, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report into the FCDO’s engagement in his case, is a stinging indictment of the FCDO’s approach to arbitrary detention and consular assistance. It demonstrates an inability to ensure that their own …
Response status not verified
#26 — Abandon plans for detaining asylum-seeking children and mitigate risks for vulnerable adults in detention.
Recommendation: The prolonged detention with no certainty of release of asylum-seeking people who pose no threat to the public and for whom there is little prospect of removal from the UK is potentially harmful, impractical and costly. We are deeply concerned …
Response attribution not verified
#61 — Mandate all police forces to establish standardised diversion schemes for low-level drug offences.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Home Office place a duty on all 43 police forces in England and Wales to establish diversion schemes in their force area for young people and adults who have committed low-level offences. The duty must outline …
Response attribution not verified
#62 — Mandate police forces to record diversion scheme use for national overview and best practice.
Recommendation: We recommend that police forces record the use of diversion schemes in their force areas to develop a national picture and an understanding of best practice. The Home Office must regularly update the guidance to incorporate this evidence base.
Gov response: Most police forces in England and Wales already have a range of options at their disposal, for instance via Out of Court Disposal (OOCD) pathways. These routes offer approaches based on the operational judgement of …
Position Not Stated
#60 — Inconsistent police diversion schemes for low-level drug offences create an unfair postcode lottery.
Recommendation: We support the use of diversion schemes for low-level offences. The use of such schemes by police forces in England and Wales is increasing and we welcome the efforts of those forces in rolling out these schemes. However, we are …
Response attribution not verified
CQC inspection actions(1)
PPO death in custody recommendations(3)
The Director and Head of Healthcare
The Director and Head of Healthcare should ensure that all staff undertaking risk assessments for prisoners taken to hospital understand the legal position on the use of restraints, including that: • Healthcare staff complete the healthcare section of the escort …
The Governor
Review local policy on applying restraints to prisoners taken to hospital out of hours to ensure it is compliant with the Graham Judgment.
The Governor of HMP Nottingham
The Governor of HMP Nottingham should ensure that prisoners are given travel warrants to enable them to adhere to their licence conditions and that in cases of refusal, the reasons are recorded.
IMB annual reports(6)
Maidstone (2021)
HMP Maidstone, an exclusively foreign national Category C prison, operated under a severely restricted COVID-19 regime throughout the reporting year, impacting humane treatment, health, and resettlement. Despite staff commendations for maintaining safety and relationships, significant concerns remain regarding Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE) engagement, the rising number of IS91 detainees, and the lack of purposeful activity. Critical issues also include the poor state of the aged estate, the absence of in-cell telephony, and the persistent problem of lost property on transfer.
PRISON
Key concerns
Morton Hall IRC (2021)
This final report covers the last 203 days of Morton Hall IRC's operation before its closure on 23 July 2021. The Board found the centre largely safe with professional staff and well-delivered healthcare, but noted concerns regarding slow lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and significant delays in bail releases. Staff managed the closure process exceptionally well, ensuring fair and humane treatment of detainees.
IRC
Key concerns
Risley (2021)
HMP Risley demonstrates high safety standards with reductions in self-harm and violence, good healthcare provision, and strong equality and diversity initiatives. However, the Board raises significant concerns about long repatriation times for foreign nationals and property management issues. The pandemic severely impacted regime, education, and Key Worker scheme delivery, leading to limited time out of cell and restricted activities.
PRISON
Key concerns
Huntercombe (2021)
HMP Huntercombe is a Category C prison for foreign national adult men, with a population of 447 and an operational capacity of 480 at the end of 2021. The year was marked by Covid-19 restrictions, which limited the regime but were commendably managed by staff, who also rolled out in-cell telephony and enhanced video calls. Key concerns include the continued detention of IS91 prisoners under inappropriate conditions, issues with property, and the need for improved healthcare information sharing.
PRISON
Key concerns
Ashfield (2024)
HMP Ashfield, a Category C training and treatment centre for men convicted of sexual offences, has demonstrated an impressive safety record with significant reductions in self-harm and violence. The prison has managed a period of uncertainty due to contract changes well, ensuring good standards of accommodation, healthcare, and key working, which has been externally recognised as an exemplar. However, challenges remain, including delays in ministerial decisions on transfers, difficulties in securing resettlement places, and prisoner dissatisfaction with movement restrictions, which are perceived to make Ashfield feel more like a Category B prison.
PRISON
Key concerns
Scotland and Northern Ireland short-term holding facilities (STHF) (2025)
This report monitors Short-term Holding Facilities (STHFs) in Scotland and Northern Ireland, highlighting significant variations in standards and persistent concerns despite positive staff interactions at times. Key issues include a lack of independent oversight for Controlled Waiting Areas, the continued mixed-sex detention at Larne House, and inconsistent, often inadequate, healthcare provisions, particularly the removal of prescription medication. The Board also raised concerns about substandard accommodation, excessively long detention periods in unsuitable conditions, and a strikingly low number of formal complaints, indicating systemic barriers to raising grievances.
PRISON
Key concerns
IMB individual recommendations(264)— showing 50 strongest matches
Gatwick IRC (2021)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention (repeated from 2018, 2019 and 2020).
Home Office
Heathrow Short Term Holding Facility (2020)
[London Heathrow Airport] The Board recommends that the Home Office, the Detention Contractor and Border Force agree a protocol so that people waiting for return flights are allowed to stay in the holding rooms, if necessary beyond 24 hours, so that they are not sent to IRCs for stays that are insufficient to allow time to rest (paras. 10.4 -10.5).
Home Office
Brook House (2020)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Morton Hall IRC (2021)
We recommend that the government gathers and publishes monthly data on the number of detainees for whom a judge has granted bail but who remain in detention together with information on the length of time they have remained in detention since the judge’s decision. This data should be used to understand and track delays in release from detention and inform …
Home Office
Yarl’s Wood (2022)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Send (2022)
The Board continues to have concerns about the unjust detention of one IPP prisoner, who is 11 years past her original short tariff date (7.3).
Ministry of Justice
Implemented
Lincoln (2022)
The Board is concerned that there is a small but nevertheless significant group of prisoners in Lincoln who are subject to indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) and have remained in custody well beyond their tariff date.
Ministry of Justice
In Progress
Kent Coast Short Term Holding Facilities (STHF) (2022)
The Board recommends that detained people should not be held at Manston for longer than 24hrs in the marquee holding rooms.
Home Office
Guys Marsh (2022)
IPP prisoners continue to languish in the establishment after the recent Justice Committee decision that these individuals will not be resentenced. At what point will there be a recognition of the inhumanity of these sentences?
Ministry of Justice
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Establish a mechanism, separate if needs be, to review the continued detention of men who have been in detention for a long period without reasonable prospect of their removal (sections 7.2.4, 7.2.5).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Building on the recommended review of AAR, ACDT and Rule 35, define and promulgate procedures and guidance to ensure cases of men “likely to be injuriously affected by continued detention” (Rule 35(1)) or who are suspected “of having suicidal intentions” (Rule 35(2)) are properly identified and assessed (section 4.4.2).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Undertake a complete review of Adults at Risk, ACDT and Rule 35 policy and procedure (repeated from 2019, 2020 and 2021) (section 4.4.1).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Improve the proactivity with which caseowners and local Home Office staff address the immigration cases of all detained men, and particularly those who are vulnerable, long-staying or disengaging (sections 4.4.1, 6.3, 7.2, 7.2.4).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Increase the Detention Gatekeeper’s threshold(s) for bringing men with mental health issues into detention and improve facilities and support to enhance the prospect of release from detention for men exhibiting deterioration of their mental health in detention (section 4.4).
Home Office
Gatwick IRC/RSTHF (2022)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention
Other
Ford (2022)
Together with IMBs throughout the country, we continue to stress that sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPPs) are inhumane and should be removed from existing prisoners. There are seven prisoners serving IPP sentences in Ford at the end of the reporting year, all of whom have served over their original tariff, with one individual having served 15 years over …
Ministry of Justice
Yarl’s Wood IRC (2023)
The Board repeats the recommendation to introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Other
Gatwick IRC (2023)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Home Office
Derwentside IRC (2023)
To take steps to reduce the incidence of night-time moves into and out of Derwentside.
Other
Derwentside IRC (2023)
To introduce a time limit for immigration detention
Ministry of Justice
Belmarsh (2023)
The Minister is urged to refer all IPP prisoners to the Parole Board for consideration to terminate their licences. If the Parole Board still considers them to be a risk the Minister is urged to enable the Parole Board to reset the terms of their licence so that they are no longer held under this rule.
Ministry of Justice
Ashfield (2023)
Why, after parole boards have recommended that life sentenced and IPP prisoners convicted of sexual offences be transferred to open conditions, is it taking such a lengthy period of time for these to be confirmed or rejected by the Secretary of State for Justice? What assurances can the Minister give that this can be reduced in the near future?
Ministry of Justice
In Progress
Yarl’s Wood IRC (2024)
The Board repeats the recommendation to introduce a time limit for immigration detention. If no time limit is introduced, how does the Minister plan to ensure that the amount of time people are held in detention is decreased?
Other
Rejected
North East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber STHF (2024)
We recommend the STHF rules be amended to place a maximum limit of 12 hours at these and similar locations.
Home Office
London STHF (2024)
The holding rooms are not equipped for stays over 24 hours and the Board would like to see the current 4.4% of people experiencing these long stays decreases significantly.
Home Office
Kent Coast Short Term Holding Facilities (STHF) (2024)
The Board recommends that detained people should continue not to be held at Manston for longer than 24 hours. And at the RHR facility, they should continue not be there for more than 96 hours.
Other
Rejected
Gatwick IRC (2024)
Introduce a time limit for immigration detention (repeated from IMB annual reports since 2018).
Ministry of Justice
Rejected
Derwentside (2022)
To introduce a time limit for immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Derwentside (2022)
In the light of the issues and inequalities that we have highlighted in this report, to reconsider the suitability of Derwentside as an immigration removal centre.
Ministry of Justice
Derwentside (2024)
To the detention gatekeeper: not to detain women with current, or a history of, serious mental health issues
Home Office
Rejected
Derwentside (2024)
To introduce a time limit for immigration detention
Other
Rejected
Derwentside (2024)
In the light of the issues and inequalities we have highlighted in this report, to reconsider the suitability of Derwentside as an IRC
Other
Rejected
Onley (2020)
The Prison Service should take a much more active and compelling role in ensuring the swift transfer of such prisoners [recategorised Cat D/B].
HMPPS
Partially Accepted
Morton Hall IRC (2020)
During 2021, Morton Hall IRC is to close and convert to a foreign national offender (FNO) prison. We are pleased to learn that a Home Office immigration team will be located at the prison with a view to resolving immigration cases. We recommend that preventing the need for time in detention at the end of sentences should be a key …
Other
Morton Hall IRC (2020)
Greater efforts should be made by the Home Office to reduce the number of people coming into detention from prison. Better use should be made of the time in prison to resolve their immigration cases, thus minimising the need for immigration detention in the first place.
Other
Lindholme (2020)
There continues to be a high number of IPP prisoners in HMP Lindholme and, presumably, other establishments. The indeterminate nature of this sentence can appear to be, effectively, a whole-of-life sentence, which this Board considers to be inhumane (see section 11). Will the minister seek to have an urgent review, to seek ways of significantly reducing these numbers quickly?
Ministry of Justice
In Progress
Leicester (2020)
The Board believes that the present system of holding foreign national prisoners in prison for many months after their sentences have expired, under immigration powers on an IS91, is unfair (see section 5.4.3). The Board asks the minister to consult with the Home Office minister to review this process.
Ministry of Justice
In Progress
Huntercombe (2020)
To ensure that issuing prisoners with an IS91 notification operates in accordance with the time limits set out in the service level agreement (SLA) with Home Office immigration enforcement (HOIE) – see paragraph 7.3.4.
HMPPS
Heathrow Short Term Holding Facility (2020)
[London Heathrow Airport] Additionally, or in the alternative, there should be an amendment to the Mitie Care and Custody (C&C) Service Level Agreement reducing the contractual window of 8 hours for providing transport between the Heathrow Airport holding rooms and the Heathrow IRC (paras. 10.4 – 10.5).
Home Office
Heathrow Short Term Holding Facility (2020)
[Becket House] The Board recommends that the Home Office arranges for the provision of more frequent transport between Becket House and the IRCs to avoid excessive waits for detainees and over-crowding in the holding room (para. 27.2).
Home Office
Garth (2020)
The Board maintains its stance that retrospective legislation is required to resolve this problem fully, in order to stop the unjust detention of these prisoners.
Ministry of Justice
Rejected
Charter Flight (2020)
Returnees must not be confined in vehicles for hours. The CFMT observed that they were rarely given any hint of the likely timeline. The first and last components of time spent in vehicles (collection and then hanging around at airports) must be better managed, to minimise in-vehicle confinement. The recommendation about coach confinement made in the CFMT’s 2019 annual report …
Other
Maidstone (2021)
Support to implement effective collaboration between HMPPS and HOIE so that communication and end of sentence management for foreign national prisoners are improved, the number of IS91 detainees is reduced and these detainees are no longer held in closed prisons.
Other
In Progress
Lindholme (2021)
Although the Minister gave a full answer last year to our concerns regarding the number of IPP prisoners held in this establishment, the fact remains that there has been very little reduction in the number still being held here. Would the Minister give further consideration as to how the numbers can be reduced more effectively?
Ministry of Justice
In Progress
Leyhill (2021)
What further action will the minister take to speed up the resettlement in the community of prisoners serving IPP sentences, many of whom have spent far longer in custody than recommended in their indicative tariffs?
Ministry of Justice
In Progress
Huntercombe (2021)
Together with Home Office colleagues, to resolve the issue of men continuing to be held under immigration powers post-sentence under convicted criminal conditions (paragraphs 4.2.5, 7.3.3, 7.3.4, 7.3.5 and 7.3.6.).
Ministry of Justice
In Progress
Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre (2021)
Much more needs to be done to remove TSFNOs on completion of time served, rather than moving them to the IDE before making arrangements for their removal. Despite a new operating model being introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2021, the Board still observed too many TSFNOs entering HIRC to begin their immigration detention.
Ministry of Justice
Cardiff (2021)
The Board continues to have concerns about men being held in custody on IS91s and their access to Home Office representatives. This issue has been raised in the last two reports. In March and April 2021, one man who was held under an IS91 began to refuse food because he was held in custody past his release date. Whilst understanding …
Home Office
Noted
Brinsford (2021)
Prisoners held on immigration status are kept far too long before transfer to an immigration removal centre or their home country.
Home Office
In Progress
Yarl’s Wood (2022)
Reduce length of stay by improving processes relating to asylum status and/or removal to reduce length of stay.
Home Office
Health investigations(3)
Independent investigation: Jan Jensen, Hassocks (2012) — Rec R3
The trust should assure itself that informal patients are not detained illegally.
south_east
Independent investigation: Simon Widger, Eastbourne, Sussex (2000) — Rec 7
This recommendation covers a number of single points within the management and administration of mental health services that require change. To ensure effective implementation all the Statutory Agencies will need to work together, however in circumstances such as these, the lead is clearly with the NHS Trust. a) The details …
south_east
Independent review of the care and treatment received by JW … — Rec R6
To enable offenders to be managed safely in the community, the criminal justice system should review release planning arrangements for those remand prisoners released suddenly from court to enable offenders to be managed safely in the community.
south_west
Detention investigations(73)
Assessment of government progress in implementing the report on the … — Rec 2
The Home Offce should develop a strategic plan for the type and scale of immigration estate it thinks necessary, bearing in mind the priority now attached to voluntary returns, so that the number and location of beds is proportionate to carrying out its wider aims.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 62
I recommend that the Home Office give further consideration to ways of strengthening the legal safeguards against excessive length of detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 22
I further recommend that rule 35 (or its replacement) should apply to those detainees held in prisons as well as those in IRCs.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 21
I recommend that the Home Office immediately consider an alternative to the current rule 35 mechanism. This should include whether doctors independent of the IRC system (for example, Forensic Medical Examiners) would be more appropriate to conduct the assessments as well as the training implications.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 16
I recommend that a further clause should be added to the list in paragraph 55.10 of the EIG to reflect the dynamic nature of vulnerability and thus encompass ‘persons otherwise identified as being sufficiently vulnerable that their continued detention would be injurious to their welfare’.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 14
I recommend that transsexual people should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 13
I recommend that people with Learning Difficulties should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 12
I recommend that those with a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 5
I recommend that the Home Office draw up plans either to close Cedars or to change its use as a matter of urgency.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 63
I recommend that the Home Office investigate the development of alternatives to detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 48
Home Office staff should be reminded that, to ensure continuity of care, detainees should not be transferred when there is clinical advice to the contrary.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 47
I recommend that the Home Office remind service providers of the need to use professional interpreting facilities whenever language barriers are identified on reception.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 46
I recommend that the Home Office review the use of fellow detainees as interpreters for induction interviews.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 45
I recommend that the Home Office seek the views of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health on extending section 75 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to IRCs, prisons and mental hospitals.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 39
I recommend that the Home Office should routinely publish statistics on the number of transfers of detainees between IRCs and STHFs.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 38
The Home Office should review all the rule 40 and rule 42 accommodation to ensure that it is fit for purpose. All contractors should be asked for improvement plans to ensure that the name Care and Separation Unit is something more than a euphemism.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 36
I recommend that Home Office Detention Operations carry out an audit of reception and holding environments to ensure that the policy on searching out of sight of other people is properly followed.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 35
I recommend that the service provider at Yarl’s Wood should only conduct searches of women and of women’s rooms in the presence of men in the most extreme and pressing circumstances, and that there should be monitoring and reporting of these cases.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 30
The internet access policy should be reviewed with a view to increasing access to sites that enable detainees to pursue and support their immigration claim, to prepare for their return home, and which enable them to maximise contact with their families. This should include access to Skype and to social …
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 29
I recommend that the Home Office and the Department of Health work together to consider whether current arrangements for safeguarding are adequate.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 28
The Home Office should consider if the allocation criteria and processes to which DEPMU operates could be strengthened.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 27
I recommend that the Home Office conduct an annual audit (or ask for an independent audit) of the RSRA process so that it remains an effective means of ensuring detainee safety.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 26
I recommend that the Home Office consider how rapidly it can move towards a system of electronic record keeping for the PER and IS91RA.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 25
I recommend that the Home Office commission a formal review of the quality of PERs and that any deficiencies are addressed. In the meantime, all staff should be reminded of the importance of completing PERs fully.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 24
I note that DSO 03/2013 on food and fluid refusal is currently the subject of internal review within the Home Office. I recommend that the review consider alternatives to treatment within a prison or IRC in light of my discussion of this issue.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 23
Once the NOMS review of ACCT is complete, there should be an urgent review of ACDT and DSO 06/2008, informed by the NOMS review and by the findings of this report.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 20
The Home Office should consider introducing a single gatekeeper for detention.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 19
The Home Office should consider the need for a separate DSO on LGBI detainees. Anti-‐bullying policies should include explicit reference to LGBTI detainees.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 18
I recommend that the Home Office consider what learning there is for IRCs from the Prison Service’s experience of operating ‘first night centres’ for those initially received into custody.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 17
I recommend that the Home Office consider establishing a joint policy with NOMS on provision for those held in prison under immigration powers.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 15
I recommend that the wording in paragraph 55.10 of the EIG in respect of elderly people be tightened to include a specific upper age limit.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 10
I recommend that the Home Office amend its guidance so that the presumptive exclusion from detention for pregnant women is replaced with an absolute exclusion.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into the Disturbance and Fire at Yarl's Wood Removal … — Rec 20
the Home Office restrict the use of special urgency notification procedures to cases of absolute necessity (as indeed is required by the relevant regulations).
Immigration Detention
Investigation into the Disturbance and Fire at Yarl's Wood Removal … — Rec 5
IND and GSL resolve the matter of twin protocols as a matter of priority since it is presumably replicated in relation to all GSL’s immigration establishments.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 49
I recommend that a formal protocol is drawn up between the contractor and the Immigration Service setting out the circumstances in which attempts at removal could be abandoned.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 35
I recommend that IND and Securicor review the logistics of escorted removals to minimise the time that staff and detainees spend waiting at airports.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 30
I recommend that IND urgently reviews the lawfulness of the 'segregation room' in Queen's Building and establishes a clear protocol to govern its use.
Immigration Detention
Investigation into Allegations of Racism and Mistreatment of Detainees at … — Rec 5
I recommend that IND’s Detainee Estate Population Management Unit (DEPMU) staff are reminded of the emotional and practical problems (including access to legal advice) associated with movement, and encouraged to keep moves to a minimum.
Immigration Detention
Assessment of government progress in implementing the report on the … — Rec 33
The Home Offce should no longer routinely seek to remove those who were born in the UK or have been brought up here from an early age.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 60
The Home Office should examine its processes for carrying out detention reviews, including looking at training requirements, arrangements for signing off cases at a senior level, and auditing arrangements.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 44
I recommend that the Home Office liaise with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that all IMBs in IRCs have sufficient membership at all times.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 43
I recommend that the Home Office consider if the inspection arrangements for IRCs can ensure the involvement of the ICI.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 42
I recommend that the practice of overbooking charter flights should cease.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 41
I recommend that the Home Office negotiate night-‐time closures at each IRC, the times of which should reflect local circumstances.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 40
The Home Office should review the use made of regional airports for removals.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 37
I recommend that the Home Office consider amalgamating and modernising rules 40 and 42.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 34
The Home Office should no longer require contractors to operate an Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 33
I recommend that the Home Office review detainees’ access to natural light and to the open air, and invite contractors to bring forward proposals to increase the time that detainees can spend outside.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 32
I recommend that all IRCs should review the range of activities offered to detainees; in particular, those that could provide skills to detainees that would be useful on their return to their home country.
Immigration Detention
Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons — Rec 31
I recommend that the Home Office reconsider its approach to pay rates for detainees in light of my comments on the benefits of allowing contractors greater flexibility.
Immigration Detention
Independent reviews(33)
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 64
Recommendation 64: I recommend that the Home Office consider how far electronic monitoring can contribute to the goal of fair and efficient border control.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 63
Recommendation 63: I recommend that the Home Office investigate the development of alternatives to detention.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 62
Recommendation 62: I recommend that the Home Office give further consideration to ways of strengthening the legal safeguards against excessive length of detention.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 12
Recommendation 12: I recommend that those with a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 11
Recommendation 11: I recommend that the words 'which cannot be satisfactorily managed in detention' are removed from the section of the EIG that covers those suffering from serious mental illness.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 10
Recommendation 10: I recommend that the Home Office amend its guidance so that the presumptive exclusion from detention for pregnant women is replaced with an absolute exclusion.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 9
Recommendation 9: I recommend that there should be a presumption against detention for victims of rape and other sexual or gender-based violence. (For the avoidance of doubt, I include victims of FGM as coming within this definition.)
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 1
Recommendation 1: I recommend that the Home Office prepare and publish a strategic plan for immigration detention.
Immigration
Taylor Youth Justice Review — Rec 29
The Ministry of Justice should consider whether further changes could be made to the conditions for a remand to youth detention accommodation to make sure that custody is always used as a last resort. (Paragraph 122)
Justice & Legal
Taylor Youth Justice Review — Rec 28
There should be close monitoring by the government of such a change to make sure that children who would previously have received a short custodial sentence are not instead sent to custody for longer periods of time. (Paragraph 119)
Justice & Legal
Taylor Youth Justice Review — Rec 26
The Government should remove or substantially restrict the availability of short custodial sentences. The minimum amount of time that a child should spend in detention is six months (equivalent to the current 12-month Detention and Training Order). The only exception to this should be those few offences for which Parliament …
Justice & Legal
Taylor Youth Justice Review — Rec 13
There should be a presumption of releasing a child and organising a voluntary attendance interview or bail with a pre-arranged interview time if a solicitor cannot attend within two hours of a child being arrested. (Paragraphs 69)
Justice & Legal
Taylor Youth Justice Review — Rec 9
Children should not be held in police custody for longer than six hours unless, owing to the seriousness and complexity of the case, an inspector authorises extending the period of detention and clear reasons are provided. In addition, the Home Office should re-examine the statutory review times for detained children …
Justice & Legal
Wessely Review — Rec 62
CTOs should end after 24 months, though the RC should be able to make a new application.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 61
CTOs should have an initial period of 6 months, renewed at 6 months and then 12 months. Each renewal must involve two approved clinicians and an AMHP, unless the tribunal has recently reviewed the order.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 55
A patient could be held in hospital for a statutory period of up to 72 hours under MCA LPS amendments whilst it is determined whether the person is objecting.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 53
For part III patients, automatic referrals should take place once every 12 months.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 52
There should be an automatic referral to the tribunal 4 months after the detention started, 12 months after the detention started, and annually after that.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 46
The detention stages and timelines should be reformed so that they are less restrictive through: a. introducing a requirement for a second clinical opinion at 14 days of a section 2 admission for assessment; b. extending the right of appeal for section 2 beyond the first 14 days; c. reducing …
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 45
The Code of Practice should make it clear that section 3, rather than a section 2, should be used when a person has been already subject to section 2 within the last twelve months.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 44
The Code of Practice should be amended so that, where a person has been subject to detention under section 3 within the last twelve months, an application for detention under section 2 can only be made where there has been a material change in the person's circumstances.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Angiolini Review — Rec 15
The use of police custody for children detained under section 136 should be brought to an end with all NHS Trusts required to make sufficient provision of health-based places of safety to meet this requirement.
Policing & Security
Accepted
Angiolini Review — Rec 14
Inspection findings on the continuing use of overnight detention should feed directly into a national framework that links to departments for health and local government.
Policing & Security
Accepted
Gauke Review — Rec 6.8
Facilitate earlier removal of Foreign National Offenders
Justice & Legal
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 16
Recommendation 16: I recommend that a further clause should be added to the list in paragraph 55.10 of the EIG to reflect the dynamic nature of vulnerability and thus encompass 'persons otherwise identified as being sufficiently vulnerable that their continued detention would be injurious to their welfare'.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 15
Recommendation 15: I recommend that the wording in paragraph 55.10 of the EIG in respect of elderly people be tightened to include a specific upper age limit.
Immigration
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 14
Recommendation 14: I recommend that transsexual people should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration
Angiolini Review — Rec 25
The use of police stations as section 136 ‘places of safety’ should be completely phased out. Guidance should not advocate the use of police custody on the grounds that a detainee’s behaviour would be ‘difficult to manage’ in a healthcare setting.
Policing & Security
Accepted
Angiolini Review — Rec 17
Custody procedures should be developed to lessen the impact of separation of mothers from young children. For example, supervised telephone contact around childcare issues should be prioritised and visits with children and their carers facilitated for longer detentions unless the nature of the alleged crime or the ongoing investigation prevents …
Policing & Security
Accepted
Angiolini Review — Rec 13
Local Authorities should ensure that they have reasonable systems in place to ensure that all police requests for accommodation, whether secure or non-secure, are accepted. Adequate funding must be made available for local authority overnight secure accommodation of children in police custody.
Policing & Security
Accepted
Shaw Detention Review — Rec 13
Recommendation 13: I recommend that people with Learning Difficulties should be presumed unsuitable for detention.
Immigration
Wessely Review — Rec 51
A power should be introduced for SOADs and the CQC to refer a patient to the tribunal following a change in circumstances. This would expand, but not replace the current powers of the Health Secretary under section 67 of the Act.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
Wessely Review — Rec 47
The tribunal should have the power, during an application for discharge, to grant leave from hospital and direct transfer to a different hospital, as well as a limited power to direct the provision of services in the community.
Health & Social Care
Accepted
PHSO casework decisions(6)
P-004308 — Probation Service
Mr A complained the Probation Service wrongly detained him for an extra 8 days due to a probation officer's mistake, causing him distress and feeling illegally imprisoned.
UK Government
Upheld
Nov 2025
P-003052 — UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)
Mr B complained about UKVI's excessive delay in completing an Administrative Review of his visa application, which impacted his employment, MBA, travel, and caused financial and emotional stress.
UK Government
Oct 2024
P-002912 — University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Mr A complained the Trust unlawfully detained him without reason or proper guidelines, and failed to provide him with DoLS documents during detention or discharge.
NHS in England
Sep 2024
P-003249 — West London NHS Trust
Ms K complained the Trust made false allegations, forced medication, and unlawfully detained her, causing fear for her freedom and inability to report crimes.
NHS in England
Dec 2024
P-002901 — West London NHS Trust
Ms L complained she was injected against her will and falsely accused of medical fraud and violence by Trust staff while an inpatient.
NHS in England
Aug 2024
P-002960 — Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Mrs R complained the Trust inappropriately placed her under a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS) order and incorrectly raised a safeguarding concern about her relationship.
NHS in England
Sep 2024
LGO / SPSO decisions(2)
24-022-613 — Kent County Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council detaining his mother with no authority or regard for her or her family’s wishes. This is because we have no jurisdiction as Mr X has used his alternative remedy by way of proceedings in a court of law.
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Jun 2025
201200542 — Scottish Prison Service
Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained that the prison failed to fully consider his application for home detention curfew (HDC) before reaching a decision. In considering Mr C's application, the prison explained that he had failed to complete six supervised orders imposed by the court from 2006 to 2008. …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Prisons
Not Upheld
Aug 2012
CJINI inspection reports(6)
Police Custody: The detention of persons in police custody in Northern Ireland
Policing, Police Custody
Jun 2009
Police Custody: The detention of persons in police custody in Northern Ireland
Policing, Police Custody
Sep 2020
Court Custody: The detention of persons in the custody of the court in Northern Ireland
Prosecution and the Courts, Court Custody
Mar 2022
Police Custody: The detention of persons in police custody in Northern Ireland. A Follow-Up Review of Inspection Recommendations
Policing, Police Custody
Jul 2025
Police Custody – A Follow-Up Review of inspection recommendations
Policing, Police Custody
Feb 2013
The operation of Bail and Remand in Northern Ireland
Avoidable Delay, Prosecution and the Courts, Court Operatio…
Jan 2023