Fresh Labour analysis has shown that hotel costs could increase
by a further £7.5 million every day, as the Illegal Migration
Bill returns to the Commons today (Wednesday).
Labour is calling on Tory MPs to vote instead for fast-track
asylum decision making and returns for safe countries such as
Albania and India that would help clear the backlog and end hotel
use.
Labour is also demanding Tory MPs back a new requirement for the
Home Office to consult local councils on new asylum accommodation
as well as a duty on the Home Secretary to deport terrorists who
arrive on small boats.
The Home Office is currently spending £6m per day on hotel
accommodation for asylum-seekers, with almost 50,000 people
currently in hotels on top of the approximately 57,000 in
long-standing asylum accommodation.
The Illegal Migration Bill changes the law so that people who
arrive after 7 March will still be placed in asylum accommodation
but won’t ever have their case for asylum assessed.
Although Ministers have promised that people will be removed from
the country, Rwanda is expected to only take a couple of hundred
people and the government has downplayed
expectations that the scheme will be operational in the new
future.
According to the government’s own forecasts, 56,000 people will
arrive on small boats this year. Some 3,150 arrived before the
Bill’s publication on 7 March, meaning approximately 53,000 will
be subject to its provisions this year.
As a result of this Bill, the Home Office is currently drawing up
plans for huge numbers of new hotels as well as on bases and
barges.
The Prime Minister promised in December to end hotel use, however
since then new asylum hotels have been proposed or opened across
the country including in Hereford, Kegworth, and Aberdeen -
evidence that the proposed military bases and barges will be in
addition to extended hotel use rather than a replacement.
, Labour’s Shadow Home
Secretary, said:
“This Bill is going to create even more chaos in the asylum
system. Far from ending hotel use, this Bill is going to mean
thousands more people in taxpayer funded hotels and
accommodation.
“No self-respecting minister who believes they will still be in
the job in a year’s time and having to deal with this chaos would
stand behind this Bill. They should vote instead for Labour’s
plan to fast track decisions and returns to end hotel use.”
Ends
Notes:
· Section 1 of
the Bill means that the Home Secretary will not consider their
claim for asylum whilst Section 9 of the Bill means they are
still entitled to asylum accommodation. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0284/220284.pdf
· In written
submissions to the court during legal proceedings surrounding the
use of MOD Wethersfield for asylum accommodation, Paul Brown KC,
for the Home Office, said that “Home Office operational plans are
based on scenarios of up to 56,000 small boat arrivals in
2023” https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/23467457.braintree-council-high-court-block-wethersfield-asylum-centre/
· 3,150
individuals arrived on small boats between 1st January and 7th
March – Migrants detected crossing the
English Channel in small boats – last 7 days - GOV.UK
(www.gov.uk)
· The average
cost of an asylum hotel is £150 per night, according to the Home
Secretary - Suella Braverman says she will
fix UK’s ‘broken’ asylum system | The Independent
· 50,000
individuals (8th March - 31st December 2023 projected arrivals) x
£150 per night = £7,500,000 per
night added cost
· New statistics
released yesterday by the government confirm that 47,500
asylum-seekers are being accommodated in hotels, with a further
57,000 individuals in long-term dispersed accommodation- Statistics relating to the
Illegal Migration Bill - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
· The Illegal
Migration Bill entitles those subject to its provisions access to
taxpayer-funded accommodation support (Section 9) - Illegal
Migration Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament
· Labour has
tabled a series of amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill to
advance its plan to tackle boat crossings, including:
o NC9: Accommodation: duty to
consult:
§ Requiring consultation with the relevant local
authorities when opening up new asylum accommodation, including
hotels, barges, and military sites
o NC10: Expedited asylum
processing
§ Requiring the Secretary of State to establish a process
to fast-track asylum claims from countries specified as ‘safe’ by
the Home Office, including Albania and India
o illegal_migration_rep_rm_0424.pdf
(parliament.uk)
