Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the recent covid-19 outbreak at Brook House, how many and what proportion of detainees were subsequently transferred to Colnbrook; how many of the people transferred had been tested for covid-19; how many of the detainees transferred had been tested for covid; and who was consulted in advance about the (a) safety and (b) public health implications of that transfer.

Immigration Enforcement is responding to the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak and following the latest guidance from Public Health England (PHE). The safety of those detained, our staff and our suppliers' staff are our utmost priority.

In agreement with Public Health England, we have temporarily closed Brook House for a short period due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases among staff. A very small number of detained individuals remaining at Brook House were moved to another immigration removal centre as a result.

We have robust contingency measures are in place across the immigration removal estate. Measures such as protective shielding are considered on a case-by-case basis and further measures, including enhanced hygiene, 'reverse cohorting' and single occupancy rooms have been introduced to minimise the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the immigration removal estate. This has been supported by the High Court, which last year ruled that our approach to detention and COVID-19 was sensible, with the appropriate precautionary measures in place.

To supplement the preventative measures already in place, on 26 October 2020 the Home Office introduced a voluntary programme of COVID-19 testing on induction for all individuals arriving at an IRC. This testing programme began with the Heathrow and Gatwick IRCs and now includes those arriving at Yarl's Wood. Accordingly, all individuals that were detained at Brook House had been offered a COVID-19 test.