A migrant processing site at Manston in Kent will not be “able to cope” with rising small boat crossings and faces overcrowding, disorder and the spread of disease, a report has warned.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons found several asylum seekers had attempted to kill themselves at the facility, where guards had been “using force” against detainees without recording why.
The watchdog warned that the Home Office was detaining children unlawfully and that staff were not spotting or helping vulnerable people, including women who had been raped.
Charlie Taylor, HM chief inspector of prisons, said that while Manston was functioning when it was “fairly empty” during his visit in February, he expected the situation to worsen.
“I was not assured that if numbers increase, as they are expected to in the summer, the site will be able to cope much better than it did during the autumn,” he added.
“This could lead to vulnerable children and families remaining on the site for too long, the risk of infectious disease spreading and an increased possibility of disorder.
“It must be an absolute priority for the Home Office to make sure that there are enough on-site staff and onward accommodation, so that migrants pass through Manston without delay.”
The report said that without change, the site would not “be able to operate safely” when numbers increase and the overcrowding, unlawful detention, disease and disorder seen in October and November “could be repeated”.
The warning came a day after Rishi Sunak announced the procurement of two new barges for use of asylum accommodation, as the government attempts to reduce the use of hotels to house asylum seekers facing record waits for decisions on their claims.
Ministers are also pushing to transform two former military bases into accommodation, but are fighting legal challenges against local authorities who say the sites are unsuitable.
A failure to secure sufficient accommodation caused overcrowding at Manston over last summer and autumn, when people were detained far beyond legal time limits and a man died of diphtheria.
Ministers later changed the law to lower statutory standards of detention and raise the time limit from 24 to 96 hours, or longer if authorised by the home secretary in “exceptional circumstances”.
But the HM Inspectorate of Prisons report said the facilities at Manston were still “not suitable” for stays longer than 24 hours, with detainees kept in marquees and having to sleep on the floor.
It warned that a mix of Border Force staff and multiple private contractors on site meant staff “could not say who was in charge” and a lack of oversight meant that vulnerable people were not being properly identified or supported.
“This was compounded by a failure to make sufficient use of interpreting services, so those at risk could easily have been missed,” the report added, saying inspectors had observed people being asked questions about modern slavery and trafficking they “clearly did not understand”.
Inspectors said the use of force against detainees and violent incidents at Manston were not being properly monitored and records that were kept did not include “whether it was justified by the circumstances”.
People had been restrained, handcuffed and locked in cell vans to “calm down” on dozens of occasions, but the watchdog found there was no investigation or review of incidents.
The watchdog said that the Home Office had no accurate data on the number of violent incidents at Manston, and provided details of just three incidents when local records “indicated many more, including fights, assaults, escapes, protests and general unrest”.
The report said records of self-harm and attempted suicides were also poor, but that at least three people had attempted to kill themselves at Manston.
“Detainees often struggled to obtain information or resolve difficulties, and we were not confident that welfare issues were being properly identified or handled,” it added.
“Detainees had limited access to any form of communication with the outside world at all sites, including contacting their families after their journeys. They were not made aware before leaving of where they were going and what would happen next.”
The report said that Home Office staff were not properly explaining to people why they were being arrested and having their phones seized after arriving in small boats, and that bail documents were in English only and requests for information were refused.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons demanded immediate action by the Home Office on four of its 11 concerns: detaining asylum seekers for too long, including children over the legal limit; safeguarding failures; use of force; and lack of language interpretation.
It said that several of its previous recommendations had not been implemented, including on the protection of children, vulnerable people and trafficking victims, the use of force against asylum seekers and a call to allow them internet access and phone calls in detention.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We welcome this report, which highlights improvements we have made to our short-term holding facilities at Manston, Western Jet Foil and the Kent Intake Unit.
“As part of our ongoing work to stop the boats, we have already taken action to address some of the recommendations and look forward to working with the inspectorate on continuing this process.
“Our staff are working relentlessly to reduce detention times, improve facilities and provide specialist medical care for unprecedented numbers of migrants arriving in the UK illegally.”
