Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the risks of covid-19 for (a) staff working in and (b) immigrants detained in immigration removal centres.

The safety and health of staff working in the detention estate and people who are detained are of the utmost importance.

The Home Office, its suppliers and NHS England healthcare providers in immigration removal centres are following all Public Health England guidance on COVID-19 for the management of COVID-19. Universal testing is not currently recommended under these guidelines, this includes staff, people who are detained and those being released into the community. Any testing conducted will be dependent on individual circumstances.

The Home Office is taking proactive steps to monitor, manage and mitigate the threat of COVID-19 to staff and people who are detained and to reduce the likelihood of the infection spreading. Guidance on managing these risks was implemented on 5 May 2020 and subsequently published on gov.uk on 5 June https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-immigration-removal-centres.

As of 23 June 2020, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in immigration removal centres.