Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) toilets, (b) showers and baths and (c) washing machines and other laundry facilities were available for use by detainees at Manston Short-term Holding Facility as of 27 October 2022.

The Manston Initial Triage and Processing Centre has been stood up as a critical infrastructure to enable criminal, identity and immigration background checks on migrants illegally crossing the Channel and collate their initial asylum claims away from the Port of Dover.

Accommodation on site is provided by a mix of existing barrack blocks converted for this purpose and marquees erected as emergency accommodation once the number of migrants crossing demanded the rapid expansion of capacity. Seven of these marquees are certified as holding rooms under the Short-Term Holding Facility rules.

There are no extant plans with the Local Authorities for the installation or building of any permanent structures on site. However, it is our aim to continuously improve the quality of accommodation to provide adequate response to the needs of those crossing the channel.

A laundry service is provided by the contractors on site. Washing machines are available on site for use by families.

Food is provided for everyone being held at Manston. As the number of crossings has increased, resulting in longer stays whilst onward accommodation is sourced, the Home Office has continued to engage with contractors to ensure the food provision meets this changing need – including increasing the variety of food available and ensuring that it meets each individual’s needs.