NEW ASYLUM SURGE ON WAY
Millions will be spent providing housing says Home Office
BRITAIN is making plans to house record numbers of asylum seekers, the Home Office revealed last night.
It has ordered accommodation providers to improve and increase their stock to meet an increase in demand.
Ministers want those who arrive in the UK, many illegally, put up in “suitable properties” while their claims are processed.
The move could see Britain’s asylum bill, currently costing taxpayers £546.8million a year – or £1.5million a day – rocket.
Fresh details of the UK’s border crisis emerged after Home Office officials extended contracts with three asylum accommodation providers.
It comes as figures showed the number of applications, including dependents, increased by a third to 41,563 in March, the highest level since 2004.
Senior Tory backbench MP David Davies
said: “Clearly there is an expectation we are going to see further increases in asylum claims. My view is the vast majority who are coming in are doing so for economic reasons and the Government needs to be tough in sending back those who don’t pass the test.”
The Home Office has extended its contracts with G4S, Serco and Ready Homes and pledged “additional investment” to ensure “sufficient suitable property is available” and “standards are further improved”.
The providers, whose deals now run until 2019, will be paid extra if the number of asylum seekers requiring somewhere to live dramatically increases.
The department refused to reveal how much the deals would cost taxpayers but the previous G4S contract, signed in 2012, saw it paid between £600-£700million to provide accommodation for as many as 18,000 asylum seekers in 4,500 homes mainly in the North-east of England.
Ukip immigration spokesman John Bickley said: “At a time when we’re told by the Bank of England governor that the working class has not seen a rise in living standards for a decade we see a Tory government throwing money we can ill afford at an asylum system which is highly discredited in the eyes of the average voter, who believes the bulk of people claiming asylum are economic migrants.
“No doubt the private companies used by the Government to carry out the housing of so-called asylum seekers will continue to place these people in our poorest communities where pressure on public services is already approaching breaking point.”
Tory MP Charlie Elphicke said: “These vulnerable people should be properly looked after and it’s welcome to see plans to take the pressure off the Kent and Dover frontline by increasing the number of local authorities housing asylum seekers. But as asylum claims continue to soar it’s more vital than ever that we take back control of our borders. It’s really important there is a renewed focus on helping failed asylum seekers back to their home nations.”
The Home Office said: “The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and we are committed to providing safe accommodation while applications are considered.
“The extended arrangements will continue to provide value for money for the taxpayer.”
THE Home Office is preparing for a surge in asylum seekers. Although plans are afoot to boost spending on welfare officers and properties to house them in the Government is still sketchy on the details of how many are likely to arrive and how much money will be committed.
This newspaper is pleased to see the Home Office taking the failings within the asylum system seriously. This commonsense policy should save money. The alternative to buying properties is to put them up in hotels.
However, the real problem with this policy is that it fails to address the heart of the issue. It will not prevent would-be asylum seekers from viewing Britain as a soft touch – a perception that has encouraged huge numbers of people to come here.
It will not help civil servants who are drowning in paperwork and need a more efficient way of dealing with claims. And the plan will do nothing to make deporting failed asylum seekers easier despite the fact that this process is bogged down in bureaucracy and hampered by European human rights laws.
This package of measures shows that the Home Office is worried about the future but it has not introduced the reforms required to create a system fit for purpose. Nor is it acceptable for the Government to release plans that are lacking in so many crucial details.