Government to open new immigration removal centre

Today, Tom Pursglove MP, the Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, announced the opening of Derwentside immigration removal centre for women in County Durham.

Derwentside, in County Durham, will provide safe, secure and fit for purpose accommodation for women. The population will include both time-served foreign national offenders and immigration offenders, while we prepare to remove them from the UK.

The new centre is anticipated to create approximately 200 permanent jobs in the local area when the centre is fully operational by the end of the year.

Ahead of visiting the centre, Tom Pursglove MP, the Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, said:

Those with no right to remain in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to remove them. Immigration detention plays a vital role in tackling illegal migration and protecting the public from harm.

This is a fundamental part of our Nationality and Borders Bill and the New Plan for Immigration which will make it easier to remove people who have no right to be in the UK.

Mitie Care & Custody Ltd has been appointed to manage Derwentside immigration removal centre, with a 2-year contract that was signed on 4 June 2021.

The new contract takes into account Stephen Shaw’s 2 reviews of vulnerability in detention, with increased staffing levels, a higher ratio of female custody officers and a range of dedicated welfare services.

The Nationality and Borders Bill is going through Parliament and has 3 fair but firm objectives: to increase the fairness of our system so we can protect and support those in genuine need of asylum; to deter illegal entry into the UK – breaking the business model of people smugglers – and protecting the lives of those they endanger; and to remove more easily those with no right to be in the UK.