Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of (a) escort services to and from Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre and (b) legal firms’ travel expenses relating to travel to that centre from the 1st January 2022.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in immigration removal centres (IRCs) in England under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS). Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.

Individuals detained in IRCs can also access privately commissioned legal advice, including legally aided advice provided through means other than the DDAS.

The Home Office contract for the provision of escorting services for detained individuals is provided by Mitie Care and Custody Ltd from 1st May 2018. Details of this contract can be found upon the Contracts Finder website. https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/8e94f338-6049-48f7-8b82-9dea24af8857?p=1

The escorting service contract is split into service lines for invoicing purposes, and the costs for escorting around the UK, including to and from Derwentside, are included within the In-Country Escort service. The department does not hold the costs for movements to and from Derwentside separately. The Home Office publishes payments in excess of £25K on its website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/home-office-spending