Following on from Stephen Shaw's reviews of the welfare
in detention of vulnerable persons in 2016 and 2018, the then Home
Secretary commissioned the Chief Inspector to report on “whether
and how the Adults at Risk policy is making a
difference”.
Publishing the report, David Bolt said:
Having waited many months for the Home Office’s response to my
first annual review of the operation of the ‘Adults at Risk in
Detention’ policy, I am sure that, like me, immigration
detainees and those who fear they may in future be detained,
along with the large body of interested stakeholders, will be
disappointed with what the Home Office appears willing or feels
able to do to improve how this is working.
Although challenging, in light of my findings I did not regard
my recommendations as especially radical or contentious, and
some people will no doubt feel that they did not go far enough.
However, I was hoping that the Home Office could move at pace
and implement the recommendations relating specifically to the
Adults at Risk process by 31 March 2020. The proposed
timescales for those improvements the Home Office now says it
is making are therefore also disappointing.
Shortly, my inspectors will begin the second annual review of
how the Adults at Risk policy is working. It will be an
opportunity to explore the Home Office’s responses in more
detail and to identify specific areas where improvements are
both necessary and achievable. I would expect the next
inspection to examine whether the Home Office’s understanding
of vulnerability has changed as a result of the present
pandemic, the actions taken to reduce the immediate risks to
immigration detainees, and what this means for the application
of the Adults at Risk policy in the longer-term. However, as
always, I will be inviting views from stakeholders and talking
to the Home Office before deciding on the precise scope and
focus of the inspection.
