, Labour's Shadow Home
Secretary, responding to the Public Accounts Committee
finding that the Tories have no credible implementation plan for
the Rwanda scheme, said:
“This damning report confirms the complete chaos behind Rishi
Sunak's Rwanda con. It makes clear, as Labour has long said, that
the Conservatives have no credible implementation plan.
“Rishi Sunak knows his gimmick won't work to stop boat crossings
- that's why he has called an election, to prevent the entire
scheme from unravelling. He is trying to take voters for fools -
and wasting hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money in
the meantime.
“Only Labour has a plan to strengthen Britain's borders and fix
the broken asylum system.”
Ends
Notes:
The report can be found here: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/201761/asylum-accommodation-and-rwanda-little-to-show-for-money-spent-so-far-pac-report-finds/
The Public Accounts Committee found:
- "The report finds that, despite the Home Office committing
significant sums of money to the Rwanda partnership and its large
accommodation sites, there is little to show for the money spent
so far.”
- “We are concerned that the Home Office does not have a
credible plan for implementing the Rwanda partnership.”
- “In its haste to establish large accommodation sites, the
Home Office made unacceptable and avoidable mistakes, and failed
to protect value for money.”
- “We are not convinced the Home Office has put in place
sufficient measures to safeguard those pending relocation while
they wait to hear what will happen to them.”
- “We are concerned that the Home Office has not engaged
effectively with local authorities about the impact its work is
having on local areas."
- “The Home Office does not yet know how it will evaluate the
impact and value for money of the Rwanda partnership.”
Labour's five-point plan to reform the asylum
system:
1. Create a new elite Border Security Command, staffed by
hundreds of specialist investigators, intelligence agents, and
cross-border police officers to smash the gangs upstream
A Labour government will create a new elite Border Security
Command, modelled on the Office for Security and
Counter-Terrorism set up by the last Labour government, to
overhaul the government's approach to national security.
This will see the installation of a new Border Security Commander
reporting directly to the Home Secretary. The new Command will
direct work across key intelligence and enforcement agencies with
a single aim of ensuring a strong, protected border. The
operation will put hundreds of new specialist investigators,
intelligence agents and cross-border police officers, who will
support the Border Security Command unit and work across the UK
and Europe, split across multiple agencies, including the
National Crime Agency, MI5, Border Force, CPS International and
Immigration Enforcement.
Labour will also seek to negotiate a new security agreement with
Europe, including a replacement to SIS-II, to allow for the
real-time sharing of intelligence on people smuggling suspects.
To fund this, Labour would redirect spending from the unworkable
Rwanda scheme, which the government has admitted is subject to a
very high risk of fraud.
-
End hotel use, clear the Tory asylum backlog, and speed
up returns to safe countries
Labour will save the taxpayer billions by ending the use of
hotels for asylum seekers within 12 months and setting up a new
returns unit for safe countries. Labour will recruit additional
Home Office caseworkers to clear the record Tory asylum
backlog, and a further 1,000 staff for a new returns unit so
that those who do not have a right to stay here can be quickly
removed, and we end the use of costly hotels at the taxpayers'
expense. Labour will fast track decisions on applications from
safe countries, like India and Albania, which are unlikely to
be granted; and establish a new returns unit to reverse the 35%
collapse in asylum removals that the Tory Government has
overseen since 2010.
3. Reform resettlement routes to stop people being
exploited by gangs
Labour would redesign the existing resettlement schemes which
are not currently working properly so that they include a
clearer process for refugees with family connections in the UK
to be considered for resettlement, preventing them being
exploited by criminal gangs or making dangerous journeys.
4. New agreement with France and other countries on
returns and family reunion
Labour would negotiate a new agreement which includes safe
returns and safe family reunions for child refugees.
5. Tackle humanitarian crises at source helping
refugees in their region
Labour would work in partnership internationally to address
some of the humanitarian crises that are leading people to flee
their homes including restoring the 0.7% aid commitment when
the fiscal situation allows and strengthening support for the
people of Afghanistan, currently the largest group trying to
cross the Channel.
