Asylum seekers to be moved to disused military bases, boats and old prison under government scheme
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Asylum seekers will be housed in disused military bases and an old prison under plans to cut the £6 million a day the government says it spends on hotel accommodation.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick announced on Wednesday that people who arrive in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats will be housed at ex-military locations across the country.
The use of boats will also be "explored," the Home Office revealed, while PA reported a former prison site has been secured.
RAF Wethersfield in Essex and RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire were confirmed by Mr Jenrick, along with a separate site in Bexhill, East Sussex, that used to be home to Northeye Prison.
Mr Jenrick also said the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has "brought forward proposals" to use barracks in Catterick Garrison, in his constituency.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Jenrick said accommodation for illegal migrants should "meet their essential living needs" and "nothing more".
Wethersfield and Scampton will aim to house 3,700 asylum seekers, with 1,200 in Bexhill.
These sites will be scaled up over the coming months, with temporary buildings and barrack blocks repurposed for additional capacity.
The Home Office said healthcare will be available along with catering facilities and 24/7 security.
On media reports that barges will be used, Mr Jenrick said "other forms of accommodation" will be looked at, with further information being published "in due course."
The Refugee Council said it is "deeply concerned" by the plans, calling the suggested accommodation "entirely unsuitable" for the needs of asylum seekers. A spokesperson for the charity said the sites "are wholly inadequate to house vulnerable men, women and children who have come to our country in search of safety" and "will add yet more cost and chaos to the system." "To end the use of hotels, the Government must focus on fixing the chaotic and inefficient asylum system by urgently addressing the backlog," they added.
'We must not elevate the wellbeing of illegal migrants above those of the British people,' Robert Jenrick told MPs
Mr Jenrick faces a backlash from MPs within his own party, including former Home Secretary Priti Patel, who suggested the RAF Wethersfield site, near her constituency, wouldn't be a suitable location.
The current Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has also voiced his disapproval of the site near Braintree in his constituency, arguing its "remote nature" means it isn't "appropriate" to house asylum seekers.
Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh similarly denounced the use of Scampton, the former home of the Red Arrows and Dambusters.
He claimed a local council in his Gainsborough constituency would immediately apply for a High Court injunction to challenge the plans, saying "Lincolnshire will fight" and "be proved right".
During a debate on Wednesday, Mr Jenrick also refused to comment on minister claims that the use of barges could interrupt port businesses.
South Dorset MP Richard Drax said the use of boats or barges is "totally and utterly out of the question" and will exacerbate existing problems "ten-fold".
'One pull factor is people thinking if they come here illegally they'll be housed in a hotel', says Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab
But trying to sell the scheme to MPs in the House of Commons, Mr Jenrick said small boat arrivals have "overwhelmed" our asylum system, with the "hardworking British taxpayer" being left to "foot the eyewatering £2.3 billion a year bill."
"We must not elevate the wellbeing of illegal migrants above those of the British people," Mr Jenrick added.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also said on Wednesday the use of hotels for illegal migrants is a "pull factor" for those wanting to come over via small boats. "That will end," he insisted. Mr Raab added: "We've got to break this business model that encourages illegal migrants to come to this country, particularly when we're spending £6 million a day housing them in hotels. We will remove them from hotels, come up with a whole range of cheaper, but humane, forms of accommodation."
Rishi Sunak was absent from the House of Commons on Wednesday to attend the funeral of former Commons speakers Baroness Betty Boothroyd. However he told his cabinet on Tuesday that the cost of using hotels meant it was no longer sustainable. He also told MPs, while appearing in front of the Liaison Committee, that children cannot be exempted from plans to detain people who cross the Channel in small boats, to prevent the creation of a “pull factor”, the same phrase used by Mr Raab on Wednesday.
Appearing before the Commons Liaison Committee, he also downplayed suggestions that flights under the government’s stalled Rwanda policy - to send migrants to the African nation - would begin this summer.
A government spokesperson said: “We have always been upfront about the unprecedented pressure being placed on our asylum system, brought about by a significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into the country.
“We continue to work across government and with local authorities to identify a range of accommodation options.
“The government remains committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders as part of this process.”
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