Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will be able to provide details of the (a) capital costs and (b) ongoing annual revenue costs of each of the asylum accommodation centres announced on 29 March 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
There is an urgent need to reduce reliance on hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, to reduce cost to taxpayer and to better manage community impacts.
As per standard practice, audited costs for large accommodation sites will be published through the Home Office annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what detailed (a) health and (b) security checks and screening processes will be in place before persons are located to the Wethersfield site.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Those arriving in small boats are first taken to facilities in Dover where searches and medical checks are undertaken.
Full border security checks are later completed at Manston before anyone leaves the site. We capture biometric data which is checked and compared against relevant Home Office systems and police databases, including international databases, so we can establish whether the person is a threat to public safety. If they fail, nobody proceeds further.
At Manston, all asylum seekers are offered diphtheria vaccines and antibiotics upon arrival. The Home Office provides 24/7 health facilities at Manston, including trained medical staff and a doctor for all those on site. All asylum seekers undergo a health check upon arrival and, if needed, people are taken to hospital for further care.
A specialist and experienced security provider will be working on site 24/7, with provisions such as mobile CCTV units. We have worked closely with local police forces and MoD teams to ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place.
The Home Office has committed substantial funding to help minimise the impact on local communities and services. This includes 24/7 security, on-site catering, basic healthcare and transport provision for those accommodated on site. The government currently provides £3,500 to local authorities for new and occupied dispersal beds. This £3,500 funding for local authorities will be extended to the sites at Wethersfield. The safety and security of the local communities, the staff and those accommodated on the site are of the utmost importance.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether additional funding will be provided to (a) local authorities, (b) the NHS and (c) the police in connection with the operation of the Wethersfield asylum site.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has committed substantial funding to help minimise the impact on local communities and services. This includes 24/7 security, on-site catering, basic healthcare and transport provision for those accomodated on site. Discussions regarding the specific funding arrangements for local authorities and the NHS are ongoing, and a grant policy for police forces impacted by new large sites, including Wethersfield, has been published. The government currently provides £3,500 to local authorities for new and occupied dispersal beds. This £3,500 funding for local authorities will be extended to the sites at Wethersfield.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 1(b) of Class Q on development by the Crown relating to an emergency in Part 19 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, what steps she plans to take to ensure that use of the MOD Wethersfield site for asylum accommodation complies with the requirements in that paragraph.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Secretary will take steps to ensure that at the end of the 12 month period, the use of the land for asylum accommodation will cease. It will either be restored to its original condition or planning permission will be alternatively obtained to regularise the development.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to provide (a) local authorities, (b) police and (c) NHS services in Essex details of the funding they will receive in connection with the use of the MOD Wethersfield site for asylum accommodation in the (i) financial year 2023-24 and (ii) next five financial years; and whether she plans to publish details of the funding allocations.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has committed substantial funding to help minimise the impact on local communities and services. This includes 24/7 security to reduce the need for police patrols, on-site catering, healthcare and transport provision for those housed on site. Discussions regarding the specific funding arrangements for local authorities and the NHS are ongoing, and a grant policy for police forces impacted by new large sites, including Wethersfield, has been published. The government currently provides £3,500 to local authorities for new and occupied dispersal beds. This £3,500 funding for local authorities will be extended to the sites at Wethersfield.
Ministers have also committed to a health funding package for large sites this financial year. This will cover initial set-up costs for Wethersfield against defined parameters and a tariff will be applied for each occupied bed at the end of the financial year as agreed following consultation with health stakeholders.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has for undertaking age verification checks for asylum seekers to be accommodated at the MOD Wethersfield site; and if she will publish details of the age verification process.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
There is already an established procedure in place at Western Jet Foil for performing age assessment on all new arrivals as part of screening.
The initial age decision, based on physical appearance and demeanour, is conducted as soon as practicable. It serves as a first step to ensure individuals are routed into the correct process and avoids unnecessarily subjecting individuals who are clearly adults or clearly children to a comprehensive Merton-compliant age assessment. The threshold is set deliberately high in recognition of the difficulty in assessing an individual’s age based on physical appearance and demeanour.
If doubt remains about whether the claimant is an adult or a child, they are referred for further consideration of their age and treated as a child for immigration purposes until further assessment of their age has been completed. We have placed specific mitigations for large sites which sets the threshold deliberately higher than for other contingency accommodation to ensure the impact on the local community is as minimal as possible
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Wethersfield site being used as asylum accommodation on local services.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The site at Wethersfield is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible, in order to minimise the impact on local communities and services. This includes 24/7 security, on-site catering, basic healthcare and transport provision for those housed on site. The safety and security of the local communities, those resident on the sites and the sites themselves are of the utmost importance. The final funding arrangements will be communicated shortly.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the annual cost to the public purse of (a) setting up and (b) running the Wethersfield asylum site.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Cost information is prospective and commercially sensitive, and as such is not available to be released.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date she expects the Wethersfield asylum site to (a) start receiving asylum seekers and (b) cease to be used as asylum accommodation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The current accommodation system is unsustainable and hugely unfair to taxpayers. We recently set out to the House our plans for a fairer asylum accommodation system. It is not appropriate during a cost of living crisis, that the Home Office should be spending around £6m a day housing asylum seekers in hotels.
For these sites, we will use a phased approach, increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time. We will continue to work closely with key local stakeholders to address their concerns and minimise any potential impacts on the local area. We are nearing go-live date and will continue to provide more details.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on the introduction of asylum reception centres proposed in the New Plan for Immigration.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Government is steadfastly committed to tackling illegal migration and stopping dangerous small boat crossings. The broken asylum system is costing UK taxpayers over £1.5 billion a year. We continue to develop proposals for asylum accommodation centres which will help reduce our reliance on the use of hotels.