Nationality and Borders Bill — House of Lords, 2022-02-10
Topic: Immigration
Susan Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I will start by making the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, happy by talking about alternatives to detention and managing people in the community, because 95% of people who are liable to removal from the UK are actually managed in the community while their cases are progressed. That obviously demonstrates, for a start, that we are using alternatives to detention to manage those without status in the UK Following the Home Secretary’s announcement back in July 2018, officials have been working with the UNHCR to develop and deliver two pilots to provide those who would otherwise be detained with a programme of case management support in the community, including access to legal advice to progress their cases to conclusion. The first pilot, Action Access, concluded on 31 March last year. I understand that the UNHCR evaluation has just been published and I will send a link to that, if I can. The second pilot, the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service, is currently supporting men and women in the community and will remain in operation until June of this year, with a further UNHCR evaluation to follow The noble Baroness also mentioned the Stephen Shaw reforms—I am now working backwards in my speech. The Government have commissioned two of them and I think that they form an important part of our ongoing immigration detention reform programme. We have introduced significant reforms in the last few years, including the detention gatekeeper assessing the suitability of all those referred for detention, independently of those making the referral, which brings consistency and scrutiny to prevent potentially vulnerable individuals from being detained. We have case progression panels, which consider whether continuing detention is actually appropriate in the light of progression to return and any changes in vulnerability. The adult risk policy ensures that an appropriate balance is struck between vulnerability and immigration considerations. There are now also more Home Office staff in IRCs and a higher ratio of supplier staff to people in detention The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, mentioned Brook House, absolutely rightly. We have implemented steps across the detention estate to enhance assurance and oversight of service provision. We have strengthened our capacity to monitor performance across the estate. This includes: action to refresh and reinforce whistleblowing; improving information flows on and analysis of complaints, incidents and use of force to better enable effective interventions, where appropriate; strengthening service and contract monitoring within IRCs; and enhancing supplier and Home Office engagement with people in detention In the period ahead, new contracts will set high expectations for the quality of management and staffing in IRCs. The contract for the recently opened Derwentside IRC, and the new contract to operate Dungavel House IRC, take into account Stephen Shaw’s two reviews of vulnerability in detention and the lessons from the events of Brook House in 2017, in particular through strengthening IRC staffing levels, professional skills in staff and an assurance on whistleblowing procedures. The design of the new IRC contract also takes into account the findings from the National Audit Office’s review of the management of the Brook House IRC contract in 2019, with more importance given to issues of safeguarding, the welfare of detained individuals, staff culture and training. I hope that noble Lords can see the sort of progress that has been made over the last few years I think that I have talked through Amendments 187 to 189. Let me just touch on Amendment 189. The proposal for the judiciary to be involved in considering cases at or around the 96-hour period of detention would place significant additional burdens on the Courts & Tribunals Service and legal aid budgets, due to the dramatic rise in the number of cases that would need to be referred. These increases would make the system unsustainable without significant reform The statutory powers to detain are rightly vested in the Secretary of State. Going back to the point of the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, it is unlawful to detain people indefinitely. There are safeguards in the system, including access to the courts in the form of judicial review, bail applications and automatic referrals for consideration of bail On privately run institutions, the needs of those in detention are safeguarded by a robust statutory and policy framework for operating the immigration detention estate. This includes: the Detention Centre Rules, the Short-term Holding Facility Rules, published operating standards for IRCs, escorting and pre-departure accommodation, and published detention services orders, which provide detailed operational guidance. We are very committed to ensuring that everyone in immigration detention is treated in line with proper standards of care and decency. Robust statutory oversight is provided by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and the independent monitoring boards The Home Office contracts specialised private sector companies to provide a wide range of custodial services for the operation, management and maintenance of those in the detention estate. However, although the operation, management and maintenance of IRCs is undertaken by experienced custodial suppliers, it is important to note that the Home Office has overall responsibility for ensuring that companies meet the required standards. In every IRC we have a Home Office compliance team, which is responsible for ensuring that suppliers are fulfilling their contractual requirements. They monitor the services provided, the treatment of detained individuals and the condition of the establishment, and ensure that the Home Office receives effective service and value for money. We have also introduced dedicated teams in each IRC to engage proactively with detained individuals and liaise between them and their Home Office caseworkers The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, rightly talked about mental health issues in IRCs. We have 24-hour medical provision in IRCs, but she is absolutely right that mental health issues must be of prime concern. I also mentioned earlier the adults at risk policy I think that is about it, but I close by saying that detention decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. I hope that, with those rather random responses, going backwards, the noble Baroness will be happy to withdraw her amendment.