The consultation on revising PACE Codes C and H follows the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) writing to the Home Office in January, saying police were failing to meet required standards in relation to female detainees.

College of Policing guidance states that women must be automatically offered access to a female officer and hygiene pack. But the ICVA found poor practice among forces, with women being left without basic sanitary protection in police cells. Examples included a force not providing tampons for safety reasons, female detainees being stripped of all clothing including underwear and placed in paper suits with no menstrual products being offered, a lack of access to hand-washing facilities and concerns about the use of CCTV in cells.

The Home Office has been working with ICVA and today publishes proposals to make clear the police’s responsibilities towards women in custody. The draft revisions to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) codes of practice will ensure that:

• arrangements are in place for all female detainees to speak to a female member of staff if requested
• female detainees are asked at the earliest opportunity if they are likely to require any menstrual products while in police custody and made aware that these will be provided free of charge
• the dignity of menstruating detainees in police custody is considered

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd, said:

Everyone who is held in custody should be treated with dignity and have their needs respected.

Our proposals should leave forces across the country in no doubt of their responsibilities towards women in custody.

After receiving the letter from ICVA, the then Home Secretary wrote to all chief constables asking them to review relevant policies and procedures in their forces.

The 6-week consultation launched today comes as the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and College of Policing produces new operational guidance for police regarding the treatment of female detainees in police custody.

Katie Kempen, Chief Executive of the Independent Custody Visiting Association, said:

Independent custody visitors invest their time visiting police custody to monitor detainee wellbeing; the Home Office has acted quickly and decisively in response to our reports of shocking conditions for menstruating detainees.

The proposed changes to PACE are a significant step forward in ensuring that the dignity of female detainees is upheld in police cells.

The 18 people were identified during a detailed review of removals, detentions and compliant environment measures affecting Caribbean nationals. Evidence suggests that the 18 people came to the UK from the Caribbean before 1973 and stayed here permanently but were unable to demonstrate their continuous residence here. 11 of the 18 went on to voluntarily leave the country while the remaining 7 were detained but subsequently released without being removed. Of these 18, 4 were removed and 2 detained before May 2010 and 7 were removed and 5 detained after May 2010.

The Home Office has already been in contact with 14 of the 18 people and will continue its efforts to reach out to the remaining 4 people to put them in contact with the taskforce. Any who are not in the UK will be given the option to return, with support from the taskforce if needed. They will also be guided to the compensation scheme once it has been established. The scheme will be open to those who have suffered loss or difficulty as a result of not being able to prove their status in the UK.

The commitment was made in a letter from the Home Secretary to the Home Affairs Select Committee providing an update on the support that has been provided through the Windrush Scheme and the progress of the historical reviews being carried out into detention, removals and compliant environment measures.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:

The experiences faced by some members of the Windrush generation are completely unacceptable and I am committed to righting the wrongs of the past.

I would like to personally apologise to those identified in our review and am committed to providing them with the support and compensation they deserve.

We must do everything we can to ensure that nothing like this happens again – which is why I have asked an independent adviser to look at what lessons we can learn from Windrush.

The ongoing review, which has looked at 11,800 historical detention and removal cases of non-foreign national offenders also identified 74 people who it would appear were either detained or removed because they had lost their entitlement to indefinite leave to remain after leaving the UK for more than 2 years. A further 72 people were detained temporarily at port but allowed to enter. All people who have been identified by the review will be put in contact with the taskforce and signposted to the compensation scheme.

These cases of removal and detention have happened over many years, with cases spread roughly equally between 2002 to 2010, and from 2010 onwards.

In addition, the letter to the committee provides an update on the numbers of people who have been supported by the taskforce. It reveals that 2,272 people were helped to get the documentation they need to prove their existing right to be in the UK under the initial arrangements put in place prior to the establishment of the Windrush scheme. It also confirms 1,465 people have been granted citizenship or documentation to prove their status under the formal Windrush Scheme.

The Parole Board is moving to new offices over the Bank Holiday weekend (25 -27 August 2018).

From Tuesday 28 August 2018, the Parole Board’s address will be:

The Parole Board will share its office space with other Arm’s Length Bodies and will be on the same floor as a new MoJ hub.

The move to 10 South Colonnade is part of the MoJ Transformation Project, with the aim to use mobile technology to work flexibly and reduce the reliance on expensive office space in Westminster.

All letters sent to the old office will be forwarded to the new one at 10 South Colonnade. All our phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same.

If you have any queries, please contact us: