Asylum Reception Centre: Linton-on-Ouse

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Tuesday 24th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that position is not yet clear. It has been made more apparent recently that there will be that kind of funding, but we have no plan in place. The police, fire and crime commissioner, Zoë Metcalfe, has been very helpful and engaged in the whole process, as have Hambleton District Council, Mark Robson, the leader of the council, and Mal Taylor, the local councillor. Apparently, there will be a double-manned police car in that village 24/7, which is good to hear, and there will also potentially be CCTV in the village, which does not currently exist. Those potential mitigations would help, but it is not clear that those plans will be in place on 31 May when service users move in. I have also not seen a clear plan anywhere.

On the funding of the centre, I understand that money will be made available from Home Office funds, but again that is not clear, which is why we are saying that the plans should be paused until we understand what is needed and how it will be deployed properly.

I have been called all kinds of things on Twitter since I objected to this facility, such as racist, which is complete nonsense. Thirsk and Malton has been welcoming of asylum seekers from all different parts of the world. We have some Syrian families in Malton and we have Ukrainian families all across the constituency, so it is complete nonsense. Nor is it a question of nimbyism. As I said, I would object to such a facility and support other hon. Members—I am delighted to see so much support in the Chamber—wherever it was going to be if that was the wrong location, as this is. We can tell it is the wrong location because Home Office guidance on dispersal is clear that there should be one asylum seeker per 200 head of population. This is on a completely different scale. The only comparable facility that we operate in the UK is at Napier in Folkestone, where there are now 320 service users against a population of 47,000. In this case, there will be 1,500 against a population of 600. Clearly, that is a trebling of the population.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

I very much support the debate that the hon. Gentleman has brought forward. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on immigration detention, I have visited the Napier site and found that it was entirely inadequate for the needs of the asylum seekers based there, that it had put a burden on local health services, and that facilities had not really been put in place to deal with that number of people—and that was 300, not the 1,500 suggested for the site at Linton-on-Ouse. Does he share my concern that, without engaging with the local community, it would be difficult to get support for any size of facility on people’s doorstep?

[Kevin Hollinrake]

Yes, I think the hon. Member is absolutely right, and she does great work on the all-party group on immigration detention, which is heavily engaged with me on these matters. Whatever we do with these facilities, we have to plan them properly. That did not happen at Napier, hence the trouble. This is a better-planned site, there is no doubt about it—some of the issues of dormitory accommodation and other things have been solved, and the accommodation itself has been planned better—but it is much worse for accessing amenities and public services for the service users, which leads to all other kinds of problems.

As I say, we are where we find ourselves, but I do not think it is right that we can effectively use this village, which is clearly not the right the place for this facility. Everybody can see that. I am really interested to hear whether the Minister will defend this choice, because I have not heard a Minister or an official do that yet. There is lots of finger pointing going on.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kevin Foster]

We can look at what will be provided on the site. For example, it is fully catered, so there will be three meals a day for those accommodated there. We will provide a number of basic services and facilities for recreation and entertainment and, on top of that—this is perhaps one thing we were to come on to—we will provide the ability to progress cases while on site, such as doing the pre-interview questionnaire and conducting the substantive asylum interview so that people’s cases can be processed more efficiently. We believe that that will deliver a better outcome overall. We are working on healthcare and other areas as well. Again, it is about the balance between having numbers in one location where we can provide a number of services versus more dispersed accommodation where we do not supply specific services and people may be more reliant on those in the community.

[Alison Thewliss]

rose—

[Kevin Foster]

I will take one more intervention, but, given the time, I do want to respond to some of the other points made.

[Alison Thewliss]

I appreciate the Minister giving way. Will he explain exactly how people will get legal support on site in a village in the middle of nowhere? Would he not be better to go back to the alternatives-to-detention pilot projects, the recommendations of which the Government have accepted and which have been found to be a cheaper and better option for all involved?

[Kevin Foster]

Again, it is worth pointing out that people are not detained on the site. Transport will be provided to York, and they will also have access to legal aid and migrant help services. Again, a place where, for example, we can progress asylum interviews—a place with video conferencing technology and other things available—will lead to better outcomes for people than being in a hotel, which for many is the alternative.

I am conscious of the time and want to respond to some of the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton. We have said that we will start small, with only about 60 people accommodated at the site in the first instance. That will be followed by a phased approach, with numbers gradually increasing to ensure that services are appropriate and that the site operates as we expect. To reassure my hon. Friend, the final decision to place service users on the site will only be taken once the services are in place and we are clear it is safe and legal to do so. As touched on, all asylum seekers will receive a thorough induction, including site and local information. The site is fully catered and there will be a number of recreational facilities. I am sure colleagues will appreciate that it is not a holiday camp, but there are facilities that allow people to occupy and entertain themselves.

I have heard the very strong representations made about the impact on people living in the local area. I will provide some further detail on local services. Only single adult males with low health vulnerabilities and the lowest level of additional needs will be accommodated at the site. That is specifically to ensure that local health services are not unduly impacted by the creation of the new centre. Those being accommodated will already have undergone a robust screening process consisting of mandatory checks, which include the capture of biographic and, crucially, biometric data. That information is then cross-referenced against a number of systems to verify a person’s identity. Furthermore, Serco will have a comprehensive security model for the site, which will be scaled up as occupancy increases, ensuring a presence on the site. I am sure colleagues will appreciate why I will not go into the full details of security arrangements on the Floor of the House, but there will be a presence. In addition, we have set up multi-agency forums, which include the police, to develop approaches for responding to any potential incidents.

My hon. Friend touched on engagement. He has certainly engaged regularly on this issue with me, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and senior Home Office officials. Earlier today, he was again making very clear his thoughts on particular things. At every meeting he has been very clear that his view is that it should not go ahead and that he wants to raise his concerns. We now have regular meetings with key partners, including from the local authority, police and fire, who can raise operational points relating to the site. Having met the leader of my hon. Friend’s local council, I know that it supports his objections, while engaging on the operational side. It is very clear that it will do so while not compromising on its overall view of the proposal.

We recognise the need for an open dialogue with the local community. We are putting in place a programme of communications to keep people in and around Linton-on-Ouse informed, alongside meetings for local people to attend. We recognise the strength of feeling in the local community on this issue. There is a strong determination within the Home Office to ensure that everything possible is done to answer people’s questions and lessen their concerns, while recognising the objections being made, including by my hon. Friend who represents them in this place.

My hon. Friend raised a couple of specific points. One was in relation to the families-in-service accommodation within the wire of RAF Linton-on-Ouse. As he touched on, they have been offered the chance to move from the site. They are on the site. My understanding is that they would have liked to have been aware that being on the base itself would not be permanent accommodation, given the fact that the RAF has ceased using it for flying operations. Clearly, the presence there was due to be run down, but provisions have been made to ensure that they are there.

We today received a letter from the Vale of York clinical commissioning group setting out its approach to primary care services for the asylum seeker population at Linton-on-Ouse. Again, to reassure my hon. Friend and the House, it is our intention that we would not look to house those with significant health needs at Linton-on-Ouse. If people developed those needs or vulnerabilities while on the site, they would be considered for being housed elsewhere, recognising that this type of facility should not put undue pressure on particular parts of local health services, including—my hon. Friend has been very clear on this point—mental health services. It should not just be seen as a matter of physical health.

I recognise the points made by my hon. Friend. He has been a very strong advocate for his constituents. This is not a decision the Government have taken lightly, but the need for action to reform our asylum system is abundantly clear and part of that includes accommodation centres. The Government will not shy away from taking the necessary steps to fix our broken asylum system and to ensure we have an accommodation system that is no longer reliant on hotels as the default option.

Question put and agreed to.