290 more beds will be added to the detention capacity at Campsfield House and Haslar, according to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
The latter, located in Gospar, Hampshire, closed in 2015, while the former, located in Oxfordshire, closed in 2019.
At a cost of £339 million, the then-Tory government announced in 2022 that it would reopen both prisons in order to raise the number of inmates by 1,000 at any given time.
Strong local resistance to the plans has been voiced by those pointing out that Campsfield House closed after years of issues including self-harm, hunger strikes, and suicides.
According to a Home Office source, removals will be handled “with dignity and respect” and they take the welfare and safety of those under their care “very seriously.”
While News is aware that the long-term goal is to have 1,000 beds available across the two locations, 290 of those beds are part of the initial stage of planning and construction.
Ministers aim to achieve “the highest rate of removals of those with no right to be here, including failed asylum seekers” during the next six months, according to the Home Office. This is in line with their goals from 2018.
Employees will be reassigned in an effort to boost returns, which the government reported had decreased by 40% since 2010.
