The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 19th December 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many residents of MDP Wethersfield are able to pass freely to and from the site; what is the schedule of the minibus service available; and what assessment they have made of the amount of time residents are able to be away from the site each day based on that schedule.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con, Home Office): Those living at the site will be able to come and go freely and can therefore spend as much time as they would like offsite in any given day. A formal register will be kept at the front gate so that we know who is on and off-site. There is no curfew, but asylum seekers are expected to be back on site by 11pm, with those who do not return being contacted to ascertain their whereabouts.
To minimise the impact on the local services, and to ensure the orderly flow of people onto and off the site, a regular transport service is in place to take users to larger local towns.
This has been developed following consultation with key stakeholders in the Multi Agency Forum (MAF).
If off-site services are needed, transport services will be available by the Home Office’s provider.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how often reports submitted under (1) Rule 32 of the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018, and (2) Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, are audited by Home Office officials.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom: All reports submitted under Rule 32 of the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018, and Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 are reviewed and responded to by a single Home Office Team, separate from the case working teams. On receipt, all reports are triaged by a Senior Executive Officer to ensure they are legible, the information is clear, and all relevant sections of the template have been completed. If this is not the case, the issues will be set out in writing and the Medical Professional asked to review and respond to the request for clarification of existing information or for additional information.
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government:
- following the Community Engagement Pilot series, what consideration they have given to alternatives to immigration detention, especially for those with medical needs.
- what assessment they have made of the report by the UNHCR, Evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service’s Alternative to Detention Pilot, published 23 August; and what plans they have to use its findings to inform ministerial decision-making in regard to the development and implementation of alternatives to migrant detention in the UK.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom: UNHCR’s independent evaluations of the Community Engagement Pilot series found no definitive evidence that community-based case management focused alternatives to immigration detention led to the quicker resolution of individual cases nor represented better value for money. Given that these key tests for the pilots were not met, we have no plans to progress any further community-based case management focused alternatives to immigration detention.
The published Home Office response to the evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advice Service pilot can be found within the evaluation report at Appendix C.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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