Safety at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre had deteriorated as detainees were held for longer without progress on their cases. That was the finding of HM Inspectorate of Prisons in a report published in October 2023.
Inspectors visited the centre near Bedford in July 2023, their first full inspection since 2017. They found a calm centre but a clear change in atmosphere. “There were more detainees, more protests and more evident frustration,” wrote Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.
He linked this to longer periods of detention. At the time, 32 people had been held for over six months and eight for over a year.
Serco runs Yarl’s Wood for the Home Office. It holds men and women detained pending removal from the UK, and also has a short-term holding facility. It held 347 detainees during the inspection, against an operational capacity of 410.
How the centre was graded
The inspectorate assesses immigration removal centres against four tests: safety, respect, activities, and preparation for removal and release.
Yarl’s Wood scored not sufficiently good for safety. The Chief Inspector of Prisons said safety outcomes were no longer sufficiently good, which he described as an even greater concern than worsening activity provision. Respect, activities and preparation for removal and release each scored reasonably good.
Since the previous inspection, the centre had faced Covid-19, changes to its role and a concerted episode of indiscipline that led to the escape of 13 detainees.
Of five key recommendations from 2017, the centre had achieved two. It had not met recommendations on support for those leaving, the length of detention and timely Rule 35 reports. These reports assess the effect of continued detention on a detainee’s health. This time inspectors identified 15 key concerns, five of them priorities.
Feeling unsafe and held too long
Violence was uncommon. However, nearly half of men and about a quarter of women told inspectors they felt unsafe. Detainees came from 48 countries, and 20% had spent time in prison.
Inspectors said staff overlooked petty rule-breaking, which probably did not help. Use of force was infrequent and usually low level. Even so, managers had missed at least one example of potentially dangerous practice by staff during an incident.
Staff had placed many detainees in the separation unit before charter flights without assessing individual risk. Inspectors described this as illegitimate and said it lacked proper oversight.
Some detainees stayed in detention long after agreement in principle to release them, because no approved bail accommodation was available. One waited almost eight months. Some detainees who lacked mental capacity, and whom health staff had assessed as unfit for detention, were still held for long periods.
Self-harm was low, but many survey respondents said they had felt depressed. Records often cited a lack of information about immigration cases as a factor.
Women, health care and activities
The centre held about 40 women on a separate unit. Yarl’s Wood held far more women than the designated women’s centre at Derwentside, which inspectors called well resourced but poorly located.
A male unit overlooked the women’s yard, and some women had faced intimidation as a result. Women also had worse access to some services than men. Inspectors praised the centre for staffing the women’s unit entirely with female staff.
Health care had weaknesses. Poor record-keeping, weak incident reporting and ineffective oversight compromised patient safety, and staffing gaps limited mental health support.
Detainees could move freely for most of the day and evening. However, activities were limited and poorly promoted, and many described boredom. Detainees had taken up only a third of the 100 paid jobs on offer. Food was fairly poor, and mobile phone signal was weak in most rooms.
Release, data and leadership
In the six months before the inspection, 65% of detainees left the centre on release into the community, and 27% left on removal from the UK. Some left homeless, including people with complex needs.
Inspectors found the centre operationally well led, and Serco’s staffing had kept pace with the rising population. Relationships between staff and detainees were mainly good, and the welfare team was highly valued.
However, the Home Office could not give the centre accurate data on detainees, including their risk levels. Inspectors said this undermined care for the most vulnerable people held there.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons said the experience for most detainees was currently adequate. Still, inspectors left concerned about deteriorating outcomes in a centre managing a larger, more complex population held for longer.
About this story
This story is based on HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on Yarl’s Wood IRC, published on 4 October 2023, following an inspection that ended in July 2023. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the full inspection report · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
