Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many transfers of people (a) from a prison to an Immigration Removal Centre and (b) from one Immigration Removal Centre to another have taken place in the last 60 days.

The Government published statistics relating to COVID-19 and the immigration system at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-relating-to-covid-19-and-the-immigration-system-may-2020 on gov.uk on 28 May and the latest Immigration Statistics publication includes the numbers of individuals detained under immigration powers in prisons. Statistics on people in immigration detention during the second quarter of 2020 (April to June) was published in August in the immigration statistics quarterly release https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2020

Management information indicates that in the period from 1 September to 1 November 2020, 397 people have entered the immigration estate from the HM Prison Estate. This number includes those placed in the immigration estate temporarily prior to voluntary removal. All entrants to the immigration estate are placed in reverse cohort units in line with Public Health England guidance and those with particular health vulnerabilities offered the opportunity to ‘shield’.

During this period there have also been 665 moves between immigration removal centres, with most of these internal moves within the Heathrow centres (Harmondsworth and Colnbrook) and the Gatwick centres (Tinsley House & Brook House).

The safety and health of people in the detention estate are of the utmost importance. We are following all Public Health England guidance and have robust contingency plans in place. As of 2 November 2020, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in immigration removal centres.