Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of detaining asylum seekers that have experienced torture on their mental health.

The Home Office takes the welfare and safety of people in its care very seriously and we are committed to ensuring the proper protection and treatment of vulnerable people in detention.

The Home Office recognises that some groups of people can be at particular risk of harm in immigration detention. This is the basis of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy. In accordance with the policy, people considered to be vulnerable, including those suffering from serious mental health conditions and victims of torture, are detained only when the risk factors in their case are outweighed by the immigration considerations.

People entering detention have a medical screening undertaken by a nurse within two hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) which seeks to identify any immediate or long-term healthcare risks. Subject to them providing consent, everyone detained in an IRC is also given an appointment with a doctor for a physical and mental examination which takes place within 24 hours of their arrival at the IRC.

Everyone in detention also has access to a complete range of medical care throughout their period in an IRC including primary care, dentistry, substance misuse treatment services, mental health care and welfare services. Depending on the outcomes of the reception screening and the doctor’s appointment, clinical pathways into other healthcare services such as mental health or welfare services may be initiated.