National Preventive Mechanism Eleventh Annual Report 2019–20 Immigration detention Around 24,400 people entered immigration detention in the UK in the 12 months ending December 2019, the lowest number since 2009. The Home Office detained 73 children for immigration-related purposes in that period. In 2019, detainees who had sought asylum accounted for 58% (14,086) of people entering detention. Analysis by Migration Observatory found that around half of those entering immigration detention have claimed asylum in the UK since 2009.166 During the reporting year, HMI Prisons inspected three of the seven immigration removal centres (IRCs) around the UK. Outcomes at Morton Hall and Brook House IRCs had improved to at least reasonably good. While inspectors found Colnbrook IRC to be a reasonably respectful centre during their 2018 inspection, safety outcomes had declined and were not sufficiently good. Inspectors found that anxiety about immigration status and removal led to many detainees feeling unsafe.167 Self-harm had risen at all three of the IRCs inspected during the reporting year. A notable percentage of detainees said they had felt suicidal while in detention (46% in Colnbrook, 40% in Brook House and 29% in Morton Hall), reflecting a high level of distress among the population. The number of self-harm incidents had risen substantially in every centre and was particularly high in Morton Hall. Procedures to monitor and care for detainees at risk of self-harm were generally good in Morton Hall and Colnbrook, but at Brook House assessment, care in detention and teamwork case management was not implemented well enough. At all centres, there was insufficient attendance at reviews by Home Office staff, even though the stress of uncertain immigration status, removal and detention without time limit were the most common risk factors.168 IMBs reported a trend for shorter periods of detention, which the NPM welcomes. However, the 2% of detainees who stay more than six months still represent appreciable numbers of people who remain in detention: as of 31 December 2019, 26 detainees at Harmondsworth IRC had been held for over six months, and the longest stay there during 2019 was two years and eight months. At Brook House, as of 31 December 2019, two men had been in detention for more than a year; at Dungavel, one detainee had.169 166 Migration Observatory, May 2020, Immigration Detention in the UK, https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/ briefings/immigration-detention-in-the-uk/ [accessed 24/08/2020] 167 HMI Prisons, October 2020, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons 2019-20 Annual Report, https://www. justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/10/HMI-Prisons_Annual-Report-and-Accounts2019-20-WEB.pdf [accessed 30/10/2020] 168 HMI Prisons, October 2020, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons 2019-20 Annual Report, https://www. justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/10/HMI-Prisons_Annual-Report-and-Accounts2019-20-WEB.pdf [accessed 30/10/2020] 169 IMB, October 2020, Immigration Detention Estate: Annual Report 2019, https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/imb-prodstorage-1ocod6bqky0vo/uploads/2020/10/IDE-National-Annual-Report-for-publication.pdf [accessed 10/11/2020] 54