Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, called daily £5.5 million cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels “unfair to the taxpayer” following announcement of plans to tackle illegal immigration.
In a question to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Dr Luke once again raised the “unacceptable” failure to adhere to the process when a hotel in Earl Shilton – twice previously deemed unsafe for this use – was selected for the relocation of asylum seekers without informing the local Borough Council, County Council, police or fire units.
Following a question to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, last month, the local MP said he was “grateful for the changes that we’ve seen” and the personal follow up with Senior Home Office officials, as the Home Office commits to notifying Local Authorities and MPs within 24 hours, should accommodation in their constituency be selected for use.
On December 13th the Prime Minister announced yet further steps to curb, what he called, the “unfair and appalling” daily cost of hotels, break the “stranglehold of criminal gangs who trade in human misery” and “make it unambiguously clear that, if you enter the UK illegally, you should not be able to remain here”.
As figures show that almost 13,000 Albanian’s came to the UK this year via small boat crossings, the Government announced an agreement with Albania which will see new migrants immediately returned and those currently claiming asylum removed via weekly flights.
The plans also include a new, permanent Small Boats Operational Command in the channel with 700 new staff, tougher immigration enforcement – supported by an additional 200 staff and extra funding for the National Crime Agency – and a streamlining of the casework process which will clear the initial asylum backlog by 2023.
Bosworth’s MP welcomed the announcement that spaces for 10,000 asylum seekers have been identified at alternative accommodation sites in a bid to halve the cost to taxpayers, which currently stands at £5.6 million per day.
Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, said “In his speech, the Prime Minister called it ‘unfair and appalling’ that we are spending £5.5 million a day on this system.
“I agree, it is unfair to those who are housed there, it is unfair to the communities who see the Government spending this money and it is unfair to the taxpayer.
“Could the Prime Minister say when [the alternative accommodation sites] will be brought forward and people will be moved out of the hotels?”
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, responded: “This is something that the Immigration Minister is working on at pace. We’re keen to move as quickly as we can and secure value for money for the taxpayer through these commercial negotiations.
“But we think most of these sites can be brought on at around half the cost of hotels. That represents a significant saving and we are keen to deliver it as quickly as possible.”
