New Assessing Detention for Vulnerable People policy will be based on 'evidence of needs' model
In a letter to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday, the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, has outlined the conclusions of a comprehensive review into how vulnerable individuals are managed within the UK's immigration detention system.
Image credit: WikipediaYou can read a full copy of the letter below and you can download the original letter here.
The letter confirms that the current Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy will be replaced by a renamed Assessing Detention for Vulnerable People policy based on a new "evidence of needs" model. The approach shifts the assessment of vulnerability away from predicting the risk of future harm and towards evaluating a detainee's current clinical and non-clinical needs.
Under the updated policy, the Home Office will expand the current three levels of evidence to four. The Minister said this change is intended to more accurately distinguish between individuals with manageable conditions and those with complex needs requiring regular intervention or close monitoring. The highest level, Level Four, is specifically designed to identify those at high risk of harm whose needs may not be met within a detention setting.
The Minister also outlined significant technical changes to Detention Centre Rules 34 and 35. The timeframe for a medical practitioner to offer a physical and mental health examination will be extended from 24 to 48 hours, though the initial screening upon arrival will still occur within a two-hour window. In addition, the legal definition of 'torture' will be removed from Rule 35 to allow medical professionals to focus more broadly on whether a person's clinical needs can be adequately supported, regardless of the specific nature of their vulnerability.
Addressing specific concerns regarding indicators of risk, the Minister said that the Government will not include being lesbian, gay, or bisexual as an automatic indicator of risk. The letter explains that sexuality does not create an inherent presumption of vulnerability, though individuals may still be assessed as vulnerable based on their specific circumstances.
The Minister did not specify when the new policy would take effect, but confirmed that implementation will proceed via statutory instruments in Parliament, alongside updated guidance and staff training.
The full text of the Minister's letter is reproduced below:
Alex Norris MP
Minister for Border Security
& Asylum
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
www.gov.uk/home-office
Rt Hon Dame Karen Bradley MP
Chair, Home Affairs Select Committee
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
09 March 2026
REVIEW OF THE ADULTS AT RISK IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION POLICY: CONCLUSIONS
Dear Chair,
I am writing to update you on the outcome of the policy review of the Home Office Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy and Detention Centre Rules 34 and 35.
Background
The Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy was introduced in September 2016 following an independent review by Stephen Shaw into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons. In July 2024 my predecessor agreed to continue the review into the policy's safeguards, with a commitment made in the House of Lords on 14 October 2024 by Lord Hanson to include statutory provisions on second medical opinions.
The main aims of the review were to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the policy and to ensure the availability of appropriate safeguards for vulnerable people in immigration detention as part of the immigration system.
The review has now concluded.
The Review Process
Initial policy scoping and design took place between October and December 2025 followed by a period of internal engagement in January and February 2025. On 3 March 2025 the review entered a period of external engagement, which lasted until the end of April 2025. Stakeholders were provided with a copy of an 'options for reform paper' covering the Adults and Risk policy and Detention Centre Rules 34 and 35, before being invited to a series of meetings (held virtually) to discuss all options for reform and provide direct feedback. A final reflection period was then provided for stakeholders to provide written feedback on the options and to include any suggestions or proposals.
A total of thirteen written responses were provided, many of which were substantial and detailed in nature, with one being a joint response provided on behalf of multiple organisations.
Outcomes
The changes identified during the Review focus on how to strengthen the identification of potential vulnerabilities at the earliest opportunity once an individual has entered detention as well as how to provide tailored support and interventions from independent medical experts.
An Evidence of Needs Model
An 'evidence of needs' model will be introduced. This effects a shift away from the current generic, high-level assessment based on the concept of risk of future harm. Instead, an assessment of the person's current needs and circumstances, arising from their vulnerability, will be the basis by which their level of vulnerability will be determined. A range of overlapping clinical and non-clinical safeguards will be utilised to establish whether those needs are being met, or likely to be met should detention continue.
Vulnerability Levels
Under the updated policy there will remain a requirement for individuals to provide evidence of their vulnerability or health condition. The current three levels of evidence will be increased to four, addressing the concerns in Stephen Shaw's follow-up report in 2018 that the current Level Two is too broad. The inclusion of a further level between those who have conditions and vulnerabilities that require support but are easily managed and those who have more complex needs that require more frequent support or intervention. The highest level (Level Four) will ensure improved safeguards for the most vulnerable in detention and ensure that those who have needs that may not be met are easily identified, accounting for the dynamic nature of vulnerability. The four levels will be:
| Level One | Self-declaration of a vulnerability that indicates a person is potentially vulnerable. The person would be considered potentially vulnerable until evidence is available that verifies their vulnerability, or it is deemed that they do not engage the policy as there is no evidence to verify their vulnerability. |
| Level Two | Professional evidence or official documentary evidence that indicates a person is vulnerable, but their needs are currently manageable in detention, and they are therefore at a low risk of harm in detention. |
| Level Three | Professional evidence or official documentary evidence that indicates a person is vulnerable and their needs are manageable in detention, but are more complex, and currently require close monitoring and/or regular intervention. They are at medium risk of harm in detention. |
| Level Four | Professional evidence or official documentary evidence that indicates a person has heightened vulnerability and their needs may not be met in detention. They are at high risk of harm in detention. |
Rules 34 and 35
To maximise the use of resources and access to independent medical advice, the timescale in which a physical and mental health examination by a medical practitioner will be offered will be extended from within 24 hours of admission to an immigration removal centre (IRC) to 48 hours unless there are serious safeguarding concerns ("Rule 34"). The initial screening will continue to take place within two hours of arrival into the IRC.
Changes to Rule 35 will establish a single category of Rule 35 report. A report will only be required from a medical practitioner where they, in their medical opinion, consider that a person's needs may not be met in detention. Rule 35 will also be revised to introduce a requirement for the healthcare team to notify the Home Office of concerns that a person has suicidal intentions, or where the person claims to be a victim of torture.
The legal definition of torture will be removed from Rule 35. Medical Practitioners will no longer be required to issue a Rule 35 report where a person claims to be a victim of torture, so a legal definition of torture in the rule is no longer necessary. Instead, future reporting under the Rule 35 mechanism will focus on the concern of the clinician that the person's needs may not be met in detention, regardless of whether the vulnerability is related to an account of being a victim of torture. This is considered more inclusive of the full range of vulnerabilities encountered in detention. However, as per above, under the revised policy, any claim made by a detained person that they are a victim of torture will require a notification to be sent to the Home Office from the Healthcare Team.
Approach to Automatic Indicators of Risk
The policy will be renamed the policy for Assessing Detention for Vulnerable People policy on account of its application to any individual who enters to detention. The inclusion of children as an automatic indicator of risk within the scope of the policy does not indicate a change in the Government's approach to the detention of children, the policy for which remains unchanged.
Consideration has been given to the representations made by various organisations on whether being lesbian, gay or bisexual should be included as an automatic indicator of risk. The policy will not create an automatic presumption that those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual are inherently vulnerable due to their sexuality. This does not mean that these individuals cannot be considered a vulnerable person, due to their individual circumstances and for reasons that can be assessed by a healthcare professional, and from falling within the policy.
There is no change to the principles that underpin this policy. The Government expects individuals to leave the UK on the expiry of any valid leave or once any claims have failed. Individuals are expected to comply with the requirement or instruction to leave. When detention is necessary as part of an enforced removal, immigration factors will be balanced against any risk factors, using this policy to ensure consistency, fairness and transparency. Decisions to detain will continue to be taken on a case-by-case basis and only for such periods as necessary to enable the specific statutory purpose of the detention to be carried out, for example a removal. There is no change to the general presumption of liberty, rather that is strengthened for those considered vulnerable under this policy and its support guidance.
Next Steps
In implementing these changes to the policy, the statutory guidance and Detention Centre Rules will be updated by laying the required statutory instruments, subject to the negative procedure, in Parliament. These will be supported by an Equality Impact Assessment. Published guidance for caseworkers will be updated and training developed and provided to all Home Office and NHS staff required.
Home Office officials will discuss these changes with NGOs at the next Detention Sub-Group, noting the next scheduled meeting is in March. The importance of continued collaboration with our stakeholders, and views of this Committee, to ensure the new policy is as effective and responsive as possible to the needs of those it is designed to protect is recognised. The insights and expertise of this group and others will remain essential as these policy reforms are implemented.
I will place a copy of this letter in the Libraries of both Houses.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Norris MP
Minister for Border Security & Asylum