Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the ability for individuals detained for immigration purposes at HM Prison The Verne to access (a) legal and (b) health services.

Jeremy Wright

HM Prison The Verne started taking immigration detainees from 24 March 2014 as scheduled . The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will retain The Verne as a prison in the short term.

While The Verne retains its designation as a prison it will be governed by Prison Rules rather than Detention Centre Rules. Detainees held at The Verne are treated in the same way as other detainees held within the prison estate. As such they have access to appropriate heath care and legal advice. Independent immigration advice is provided on site by Migrant Help. In addition, detainees are able to telephone Detention Action, and BID (Bail for Immigration detainees).