Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to prevent people in immigration centres with infectious diseases from being moved to other locations.

The safety and health of people in the immigration detention estate is of the utmost importance. The Home Office has robust contingency plans in place and follows national guidance issued by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Public Health Scotland (PHS) and the National Health Service, including advice on preventing and controlling infectious disease outbreaks in prisons and other prescribed places of detention.

In addition, all immigration removal centres (IRCs), residential short-term holding facilities (RSTHF) and holding rooms operated by private contractors have communicable disease contingency plans, based on UKHSA advice. The detail of these contingency plans varies depending on the size, nature and infrastructure of the facility and will include guidance on sharing data with relevant partners such as IRC contractors, healthcare providers and UKHSA.

All IRCs have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses which are managed by the NHS or appropriate providers. All receptions into IRCs receive an assessment within two hours by a nurse and are offered a doctor’s appointment within 24 hours. In line with UKHSA guidance, measures such as protective isolation are considered on a case by case basis to minimise the risk of infectious diseases spreading to vulnerable groups in the immigration detention estate or into the community if the individual is released. In RSTHFs and holding rooms operated by private contractors where there is a healthcare presence, any communicable diseases identified are notified to UKHSA or PHS by medical professionals, as appropriate, and wherever possible the individual is temporarily isolated from the main population.