Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to review and respond to the recommendations of the Brook House Inquiry report, published on 19 September 2023.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The abuse that took place at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) in 2017 was unacceptable and this government is committed to ensuring that it will never happen again.
The previous government published its response to the Brook House Inquiry on 19 March 2024 and can be found here: Government response to the Brook House Inquiry report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
A cross governmental working group continues to meet monthly to monitor progress against accepted recommendations and drive forward implementation.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to respond to the report on an unannounced inspection of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, published on 9 July.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office takes the health, welfare and safety of people in our care very seriously and it is vital that detention and removals are carried out with dignity and respect.
We are concerned by some of the findings in His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons’ (HMIP’s) report and recognise that standards need to improve across immigration detention facilities. We are committed to taking robust steps informed by these inspection findings.
A detailed service improvement plan setting out the Government’s response to the report has been published on HMIP’s website and implementation of those actions, and overall conditions at Harmondsworth, will be monitored closely to ensure that standards improve.
Further details can be found here: Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre – HM Inspectorate of Prisons (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to continue the use of large-scale asylum accommodation centres, including (1) RAF Scampton, and (2) MDP Wethersfield.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and ensures that the rules are properly enforced.
The Home Secretary will decide on the future of current Home Office policies in due course.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following their press release on 1 May stating that detention capacity had been increased to more than 2,200 spaces for those being removed to Rwanda, how many additional detention spaces have been created for this purpose and where they are located.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office currently operates seven immigration removal centres (IRCs) throughout the UK
As of 24 April the Home Office has the capacity to detain around 2,200 people in IRCs, including those liable for removal to Rwanda.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were given entry clearance to the UK in the last recorded 12-month period on the basis of (1) family life as a partner or parent, or (2) exceptional circumstances in compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The number of applications for entry clearance to the UK that are made on the basis of family life as a partner or parent and any exceptional circumstances in compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
The published online transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following their press release on 1 May stating that individuals are to be detained for removal to Rwanda in the next nine to 11 weeks, how many such individuals they anticipate will be granted immigration bail in the interim.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As all detention decisions are particular to the individual concerned it would be inappropriate to predict the extent of any related future activity.
The government has repeatedly stated that it will not be providing a running commentary on the removals process.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they can provide further details about the cross-Government working group created to manage the delivery of Brook House Inquiry report recommendations, including (1) what are the group's terms of reference, (2) who will be its members, and (3) whether minutes of its meeting be made publicly available.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government continues to reflect on the findings in the Brook House Inquiry report and progress is being made on recommendations. The Government response will be published in due course.
This work is being overseen by a Senior Civil Servant (SCS), the Director of Detention Services. A specialist cross government working group has also been established to manage delivery of recommendations, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care.
The Home Office will continue to monitor the implementation of any changes resulting from the report’s recommendations.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address recommendations 10, 15 and 18 of the Brook House Inquiry report, published 19 September 2023.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government continues to reflect on the findings in the Brook House Inquiry report and progress is being made on recommendations. The Government response will be published in due course.
This work is being overseen by a Senior Civil Servant (SCS), the Director of Detention Services. A specialist cross government working group has also been established to manage delivery of recommendations, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care.
The Home Office will continue to monitor the implementation of any changes resulting from the report’s recommendations.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish their response to the Brook House Inquiry report, published 19 September 2023.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government continues to reflect on the findings in the Brook House Inquiry report and progress is being made on recommendations. The Government response will be published in due course.
This work is being overseen by a Senior Civil Servant (SCS), the Director of Detention Services. A specialist cross government working group has also been established to manage delivery of recommendations, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care.
The Home Office will continue to monitor the implementation of any changes resulting from the report’s recommendations.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Senior Civil Servant appointed to oversee the Government’s consideration of the Brook House Inquiry report, published 19 September 2023, will continue overseeing the implementation of the recommendations after the Government has published its response; and whether the Government's response will include (1) an obligation to monitor the implementation of the report's recommendations, and (2) a requirement to present regular reports to Parliament on the progress of those recommendations.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government continues to reflect on the findings in the Brook House Inquiry report and progress is being made on recommendations. The Government response will be published in due course.
This work is being overseen by a Senior Civil Servant (SCS), the Director of Detention Services. A specialist cross government working group has also been established to manage delivery of recommendations, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care.
The Home Office will continue to monitor the implementation of any changes resulting from the report’s recommendations.