Dungavel House IRC, South Lanarkshire

Dungavel House sits on Muirkirk Road near Strathaven and was previously a country shooting estate before its conversion to immigration use in 2001. It accommodates men and women in separate areas, with capacity for around 249 detainees in total. Mitie Care and Custody runs the site under a long-running Home Office contract, providing security, custody, healthcare and welfare services^[2]GOV.UK.

Asylum and immigration are reserved to the UK Parliament, so Holyrood has no direct authority over Dungavel. The Scottish Government has nonetheless used child welfare powers to press for reform, and the SNP has consistently opposed the detention of children, pregnant women and other vulnerable people at the site. The 2016 announcement of Dungavel's closure was rescinded in February 2017 with a planned replacement cancelled. A March 2023 House of Commons debate highlighted the centre's six-mile distance from the nearest public transport and the detention of pregnant women between 2016 and 2018^[3]Hansard.

At an indicative IRC bed-day rate of £350, the 249 places at Dungavel imply an annual operating run-rate of roughly £31.8 million if fully utilised. The May 2025 NAO accommodation report tracked detention costs separately from the £1.296 billion asylum hotel bill but identified detention modalities as among the most expensive options for the public purse^[4]NAO.