Colnbrook IRC – decent care for detainees despite Home Office failings
The inspection of Colnbrook immigration removal centre found an experienced leadership team delivering reasonable outcomes for detainees despite its prison-like design and weaknesses in Home Office engagement. The centre, situated next to Heathrow and run by Mitie Care and Custody, held 184 detainees at the time of the inspection, and was judged reasonably good in all healthy establishment areas.
With the exception of the women’s unit, Colnbrook looked and felt like a prison. Ventilation in cells was poor and toilet screening was inadequate, while detainees were still locked into cells at night and during the daily roll check.
There was good library and gym provision, a reasonable range of learning activities and a few basic jobs available to detainees. However, promotion of activities was not good enough and few people were working or attending classes. A mobile cultural kitchen provided meals on the unit as an alternative to the adequate but institutional food.
Health care was generally good, although there were a high number of staff vacancies in the mental health team. The small number of detainees experiencing acute mental health crises were supported well, but provision for detainees with lower-level mental health issues was inadequate. No psychologist had been available since August 2021 for those who needed trauma-informed psychological interventions. About a third of detainees had been released following a Rule 35 report in the previous six months, but very few reports were being submitted for health concerns or suicide risk. In most reviewed cases where the Home Office accepted that there was evidence of torture, detention was nevertheless maintained.
The understaffed Home Office Detention Engagement Team (DET) had not been adequately fulfilling its core responsibility of engaging with detainees, and many detainees were frustrated and anxious about the difficulties they faced in obtaining information and updates on their case.
Overall, the centre was well led by an experienced team who generally provided good oversight of this reasonably safe and decently run centre. The centre had been let down by Home Office services that failed to communicate adequately with detainees or act with enough urgency, meaning that some cases dragged on unnecessarily to the detriment of detainees.
Notes to editors
- Read the Colnbrook IRC report, published on 1 July 2022.
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
- Situated in Harmondsworth next to Heathrow, Colnbrook IRC opened in 2004. It was managed by Serco until 1 September 2014 when Mitie Care and Custody took over the operation of both Colnbrook and Harmondsworth IRCs.
- At the time of this inspection, the establishment held 184 detainees.
- Inspectors identified six examples of notable positive practice.
- This inspection took place between 28 February and 18 March 2022.