Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether a review has been commissioned for completion this year to follow the health and wellbeing needs assessment programme in Immigration Removal Centres which reported in 2015.

The Health Needs Assessment process is the responsibility of NHS England regional commissioners. They manage the timetable and format for Health Needs Assessments at Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) in their area. There is an expectation that a full Health Needs Assessment is carried out every three years with an annual refresh which aligns to the NHS England commissioning cycle.

Health Needs Assessments for specific IRCs are put out to tender. A comprehensive Health Needs Assessment would seek input from a variety of organisations and individuals who have experiences of IRCs, usually through a formal stakeholder event, which would include Non-Governmental Organisations.

The 2015 review of the Health Needs Assessment programme established a national baseline for providing services in IRCs. There is no plan to commission a further review.