Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how often reports submitted under (1) Rule 32 of the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018, and (2) Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, are audited by Home Office officials.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
All reports submitted under Rule 32 of the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018, and Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 are reviewed and responded to by a single Home Office Team, separate from the case working teams. On receipt, all reports are triaged by a Senior Executive Officer to ensure they are legible, the information is clear, and all relevant sections of the template have been completed. If this is not the case, the issues will be set out in writing and the Medical Professional asked to review and respond to the request for clarification of existing information or for additional information.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many residents of MDP Wethersfield are able to pass freely to and from the site; what is the schedule of the minibus service available; and what assessment they have made of the amount of time residents are able to be away from the site each day based on that schedule.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Those living at the site will be able to come and go freely and can therefore spend as much time as they would like offsite in any given day. A formal register will be kept at the front gate so that we know who is on and off-site. There is no curfew, but asylum seekers are expected to be back on site by 11pm, with those who do not return being contacted to ascertain their whereabouts.
To minimise the impact on the local services, and to ensure the orderly flow of people onto and off the site, a regular transport service is in place to take users to larger local towns.
This has been developed following consultation with key stakeholders in the Multi Agency Forum (MAF).
If off-site services are needed, transport services will be available by the Home Office’s provider.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the UNHCR, Evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service’s Alternative to Detention Pilot, published 23 August; and what plans they have to use its findings to inform ministerial decision-making in regard to the development and implementation of alternatives to migrant detention in the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UNHCR’s independent evaluations of the Community Engagement Pilot series found no definitive evidence that community-based case management focused alternatives to immigration detention led to the quicker resolution of individual cases nor represented better value for money. Given that these key tests for the pilots were not met, we have no plans to progress any further community-based case management focused alternatives to immigration detention.
The published Home Office response to the evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service pilot can be found within the evaluation report at Appendix C.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Community Engagement Pilot series, what consideration they have given to alternatives to immigration detention, especially for those with medical needs.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UNHCR’s independent evaluations of the Community Engagement Pilot series found no definitive evidence that community-based case management focused alternatives to immigration detention led to the quicker resolution of individual cases nor represented better value for money. Given that these key tests for the pilots were not met, we have no plans to progress any further community-based case management focused alternatives to immigration detention.
The published Home Office response to the evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service pilot can be found within the evaluation report at Appendix C.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish a progress report on the implementation of recommendations from the Brook House Inquiry report, published on 19 September.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is carefully considering the findings of the Brook House Inquiry in its detailed report, including the recommendations in relation to the management of the immigration detention estate and the welfare of detained individuals.
There are currently no plans to publish a progress report.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many age assessments by border staff were overturned after a full Merton assessment conducted by local authority social workers over the last two years.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are unable to provide the information requested as this is on live operational data and is subject to change. Published statistics on age disputes can be found at: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many general practitioners are stationed on site at MDP Wethersfield; and how regularly is this service accessible for migrants being housed at MDP Wethersfield.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The site has on-site primary healthcare delivered throughout the day by a local healthcare provider during normal working hours Monday to Friday. The medical centre is open for 12 hours on arrival days.
This is run by healthcare professionals, a doctor, nurse practitioners, and health care assistants, who offer systematic heath assessments and are able to prescribe medication.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish a response to the UN Evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service’s Alternative to Detention Pilot, published on 23 August.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The published Home Office response to the evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service pilot is included within the evaluation report at Appendix C.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to revise and re-issue guidance on adults at risk in immigration detention, which was last published in May 2021, as set out in section 59 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As set out by Lord Murray during the passage of the Illegal Migration Bill through parliament, the Home Office will be updating the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy to work with provisions in the Illegal Migration Act. In accordance with section 59 of the Immigration Act 2016, amendments to the statutory guidance will be laid before parliament by statutory instrument in due course.
A separate, broader review of the Adults at Risk policy is also currently being undertaken and includes reviewing Rule 34 and Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many reports under (1) rule 32 of the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018, and (2) rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, were issued in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, and (c) 2023; and how many led to the release of an individual detained after a detention review.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office refers to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication.
We do not routinely publish information about the number of reports under rule 32 of the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018, and rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, and how many led to the release of an individual detained after a detention review.