The government will house migrants in four military sites and “explore” using decommissioned vessels.
The government has announced that “thousands” of asylum claimants will be housed on four military bases. One of which is in the constituency of the prime minister.
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, affirmed plans to house migrants at former RAF bases in Essex and Lincolnshire and announced two new sites in East Sussex and Yorkshire.
Catterick Garrison Barracks is located within Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency.
Mr. Jenrick said the Home Office “continues to explore” controversial plans to use vessels to house asylum seekers.
He told the House of Commons, “The prime minister is demonstrating leadership on this issue by putting forward proposals to provide accommodation at Catterick Garrison Barracks in his constituency, and we’re continuing to investigate the possibility of accommodating migrants in vessels, as is the case in Scotland and the Netherlands.”
Scottish MPs responded to the news with protests of “it’s not the same.”
In Scotland, cruise ships have housed Ukrainian refugees escaping the conflict.
The new housing plans aim to lower the government’s £6.8 million daily hotel spending and deter Channel crossings.
However, a refugee charity has stated that the proposed housing is “completely unsuitable” for conflict refugees. And two Conservative-led councils in the area are planning legal action.
And Labour stated that the proposals would not reduce expenditure, “contrary to all of the information in the papers.” As the new sites would be in addition to existing hotels, not replacements.
Housing “will meet essential living requirements”
Mr. Jenrick argued that the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers has led to a decline in tourism and the cancellation of weddings, and that “we must not place the welfare of illegal immigrants above that of the British people.”
He stated that the new housing “should meet their basic needs and nothing more”
He stated that the military sites will be “expanded in the coming months” to accommodate “thousands of asylum seekers in repurposed barracks and portable cabins.
“We are committed to meeting our legal obligations for those who would otherwise be destitute, but we cannot go further,” he said.
Before Mr. Jenrick’s announcement, Braintree District Council stated that it will “imminently” seek a High Court injunction to challenge the proposed use of the Wethersfield airbase in Essex, citing concerns about the “isolated” location and effect on local services.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, the Conservative MP for the area, had previously expressed these concerns. However, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told that his cabinet colleague now “fully supports” the policy.
Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative member of parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, has also stated that the local council will promptly initiate legal action to oppose the proposal.
He stated that he feared losing £300 million of regeneration funding aimed at transforming RAF Scampton into a heritage site and asked Mr. Jenrick, “How will he protect the safety of 1,000 people living next door to 1,500 migrants and a primary school? He cannot guarantee it.”
“Admittance of failure”
The announcement was also criticized by opposition lawmakers, with Labour’s Yvette Cooper describing it as an “admission of failure.”
“Perhaps that’s why the Home Secretary asked the Immigration Minister to make it instead,” she jabbed at Suella Braverman, her government counterpart.
Ms. Cooper stated that the Conservatives pledged to halve Channel crossings four years ago. But “they’ve increased 20-fold since then,” and more hotels have opened despite repeated pledges to end their use.
She stated, “The asylum system is broken because they broke it.”
Despite more boats and gangs crossing the channel, people smuggler convictions have fallen by half in four years. Yesterday, Tory MPs voted against Labour’s proposal for cross-border police units to go after the gangs.
