Mental illness concerns at Lincolnshire immigration centre

A watchdog has raised concerns over people with mental illnesses being held in an immigration detention centre.

A report into Morton Hall near Lincoln found a man with "severe mental health conditions" was held for 70 days before being transferred to a specialist unit.

Independent Monitoring Board inspectors also described the levels of self-harm as a "significant concern".

The Home Office said it was reviewing the system for monitoring vulnerable detainees.

The report said: "During 2019, four men at Morton Hall were diagnosed with severe mental health conditions but stayed in detention for periods of 15, 22, 52 and 70 days, respectively, before they were moved to specialised care settings."

In its recommendations, the board said: "We think there should be better screening and assessment of people with severe mental health conditions to avoid them being placed in detention.

"And we also hope the Home Office will investigate and resolve the delays in releasing detainees who get bail or are at risk of harm if they remain in detention."

Inspectors praised staff for "ensuring fair treatment for detainees" and said feedback from detainees was "positive".

"The board commends the professionalism and calmness of staff in helping to bring this about, especially when they are required to manage challenging and, sometimes, confrontational behaviour," they said.

The centre was also praised for reducing the number drug related incidents.

"During 2019, 45 detainees were found under the influence of illicit substances compared with 227 in 2018," the report found.

However, the report said although incidents of self-harm had dropped by 7% compared with 2017 they still remained a "worrying aspect of life in detention".

The Home Office said it was considering the contents of the report.

"We have taken forward a number of initiatives to protect vulnerable detainees, including the Adults at Risk in immigration detention policy, which ensures that individuals are only detained when the immigration considerations outweigh the evidence of vulnerability," a spokesperson said.