Migrants: Detainees
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average time taken to make a Reasonable Grounds decision for people currently held in immigration detention.
Answered by Alex Norris
This government has been clear that identifying and protecting victims of modern slavery is a priority for this government.
Obtaining the specific information requested regarding those in detention with a positive reasonable ground’s decision is not something that can be provided easily.
The government publishes regular statistics on the number of referrals into the system alongside the outcomes of those decisions. Those can be found on gov.uk – the most recent publication covering the period July-September 2025 show that the average time taken from referral to reasonable grounds decision was 6 days across both competent authorities.
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