Overview
- Contract documents published by tabloids detail arts and crafts sessions, IT tutorials and English lessons for detainees at Brook House and Tinsley House near Gatwick.
- Amenities listed include gym access, board games and library books, a welfare buddy scheme, £5 weekly spending money, and £1-an-hour work such as cleaning or serving food.
- Operational requirements include monthly diversity and equality meetings, a designated advisor, annual race relations reports, and rules restricting materials that could cause offence.
- Serco says it is providing activities stipulated in its Home Office contract, which the department says was awarded under a previous government and is now being reviewed for value.
- Critics including Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and the TaxPayers' Alliance condemned the provisions, while official data shows average stays of 6.7 weeks at Brook House and 5.1 weeks at Tinsley House.