Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultations have been carried out with the local community on her Department's proposal to re-open the former Medomsley Detention Centre site as Hassockfield immigration removal centre.
The Home Office has acquired the former Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in County Durham and will open it as an immigration removal centre for women by the autumn.
Discussions with Durham County Council have taken place and will continue throughout the development of plans for the site. Consultations with local councillors, other local stakeholders and interested non-governmental organisations including the Refugee Council, will take place over the coming months.
The former Medomsley Detention Centre was demolished and rebuilt in 1988.