It’s back to basics for camps, says Jenrick
CHANNEL migrants should be housed in large “decent but basic” detention centres while their asylum claims are processed, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick announced yesterday.
He said it is “not sustainable for the country, spending billions of pounds a year on hotels”.
The Home Office is forking out almost £7million daily on hotels for migrants and Mr Jenrick admitted providing decent rooms for asylum seekers could encourage more to make the trip.
Some are being placed in four-star hotels at an average cost of £150 per night.
He also conceded some asylum seekers have been urged to stay with family and friends to avoid officials paying for hotels.
Ministers are hunting for sites that can be developed into large asylum processing centres which can hold thousands of people after widespread fury over overcrowding at Manston.
The population there fell below its maximum 1,600 capacity for the first time in weeks, Mr Jenrick told MPs yesterday.
He said more than 2,300 have been transferred from the former RAF base over the past week.
But the Government will not be removing tents set up to ease overcrowding there “in case there’s a significant increase” in Channel crossings.
The Daily Express understands the Home Office hunt is focusing on Government-owned land amid concerns private land would cost too much and fall foul of Treasury spending rules.
Mr Jenrick said: “The hotels are not a sustainable answer.
“We want to ensure we exit the hotels as quickly as possible and to do that we will need to disperse individuals to other accommodation.
“We may need to take some larger sites to provide decent but basic accommodation.And, of course, we will need to get through the backlog so that we can get more people out of the system either by returning them or granting them asylum so they can begin to make a contribution to the UK.
“Decency is important and will be a watchword for us.
“But deterrence has to be suffused through our approach as well because we do not want to create a further pull factor for individuals to make this perilous crossing across the Channel.
“We have to make the UK significantly less attractive to illegal immigration than our EU neighbours.”
Ministers also faced fury from Conservatives over Channel migrants being “steamrolled” in to their areas.
MP Andy Carter said on Thursday he was notified by the Home Office that a hotel in hisWarrington South constituency would “become an asylum centre the following day” – and said no talks were held with the council.
And Scott Benton MP blasted Mr Jenrick for a lack of action.
He said: “How does he think my constituents who can’t get an NHS dentist or a GP appointment or a council house feel about the fact we’re spending £2billion a year on hotel bills because we can’t be bothered to solve this issue?”