Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold an inquiry into trends in the number of deaths of individuals detained in immigration detention.

James Brokenshire

Any death in immigration detention is a tragic event and each death is subject
to independent investigation, as appropriate, by the police, the Coroner and
the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

Any recommendations made by the investigating authorities are thoroughly
examined to see how they can be used to help prevent further tragedies across
the detention estate and action plans are drawn up to monitor their
implementation.

For example, firm written reminders were issued to all suppliers on the
requirements of the current Detention Services Order on use of handcuffs, which
was followed up by a workshop on their appropriate use and the importance of
proper risk assessments. Recommendations relevant to medical care for detainees
have been shared with NHS England to inform their commissioning of healthcare
services from 1 September 2014.