Yarl's Wood IRC, Bedfordshire
Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre sits on the former RAF Twinwood Farm site near Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire. Originally opened in 2001 as a women's IRC, the site was repurposed in 2022 as a short-term holding facility used during the Channel arrivals processing surge[2]GOV.UK[1]IMB.
Capacity
410
bedspaces
Per night
£350
per resident
Annual
£52m
estimated
Background
The Yarl's Wood site is one of the most heavily-scrutinised places in the UK detention estate. Operated by Serco under a long-running Home Office contract, the site was previously the subject of multiple HM Inspectorate of Prisons reports, parliamentary inquiries, and a 2018 detainee hunger strike[2]GOV.UK.
The 2022 repurposing
In 2022 the Home Office moved adult female detention to Derwentside in County Durham and repurposed Yarl's Wood as a short-term holding facility for new arrivals, primarily individuals processed after Channel crossings. The IMB's 2024 report tracked the resulting changes to regime, length-of-stay and detainee composition at the site[1]IMB.
Cost analysis
At an indicative bed-day rate of £350 for IRC modalities, a 410-bed Yarl's Wood implies an annual run-rate of roughly £52 million if fully utilised. Short-term holding modalities can attract a slightly lower per-day cost than long-stay IRC use, but staffing and security overhead dominate the total in either case[3]NAO.
Per-person per-day cost stack (IRC benchmark)
£350- Detention staffing & security£22063%
- Estate / facilities£6017%
- Healthcare & mental health£3510%
- Legal aid & casework£206%
- Transport / removals£154%
Cost in context
Yarl's Wood IRC
£350
benchmark
UK asylum hotel avg
£170
NAO
Asylum dispersed flat
£50
commercial
Hostel bed
£30
commercial
Timeline
Timeline
2001
Yarl's Wood opens as a women's IRC
2018
Detainee hunger strike
2021
Decision to move adult female detention to Derwentside
2022
Site repurposed as short-term holding for arrivals
2024
IMB report on the new regime
Sources
- Independent Monitoring Board: Yarl's Wood IRC annual report 2024 · Independent Monitoring Board, Jul 2025
IMB annual report on Yarl's Wood IRC documenting the mixed-use facility (376 male IRC + 58 female IRC + 10 male short-term holding) at Twinwoods Business Park, Bedfordshire.
- Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre · GOV.UK, 2025
Government overview of Yarl's Wood IRC in Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire and its current operational profile.
- The Home Office's asylum accommodation contracts · National Audit Office, May 2025
222 hotels in use; £1.296 billion annual (2024/25); per-hotel approximately £5.84 million.