Alex Norris MP, The Minister of State, Home Department, has been defending the Government’s plan to house asylum seekers at the old RAF base at Linton-on-Ouse near York.
He said that no final decision has been made, but he explained why it was favoured, even though the plan was rejected by the last Government four years ago,
He was questioned by the local MP but first made his statement.
Part of the statement from the Minister to the House of Commons.
“The dismal consequences of the failure to secure our country’s borders are grimly familiar to us all. Individuals risking their lives to come here via dangerous means, criminal gangs growing rich from the proceeds of organising these journeys, community cohesion placed under severe strain, and the public’s trust in the state’s ability to perform one of its most basic functions shredded.
“Over the last two years, this government has taken concerted action to turn this situation around.
“We have begun by implementing major asylum reforms to reduce the incentives that draw people to this country. We have cut the overall asylum costs by nearly a billion pounds, and whilst asylum decision making, which effectively ground to a halt under the previous government, is at a 24 year high, more foreign criminals and illegal migrants are being removed than at any time in many, many years, and in partnership with our French counterparts, we stopped more than 44,000 crossing attempts, and we have also put in place a ground breaking scheme that means that small boat arrivals can, for the first time, be returned to France, and all of this work is important and is making a difference, Mr Speaker, but perhaps the most totemic and tangible manifestation of the failing system we inherited is the continued use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
“Hotels ought to be local assets serving their communities, not propping up the asylum accommodation system. That is why this government made a commitment to end the use of asylum hotels in this Parliament.
“We are well on track to deliver on that aim. In April, we announced that 11 asylum hotels have been closed and given back to local communities. We were clear at that point that more would follow in subsequent weeks, and so that has proven, with a further 20 now having closed. That means that there are just under 170 asylum hotels in use, a reduction of more than half compared to the peak of around 400 under the previous government.
“So progress is being made, but we must go further, and that means scaling up our use of larger, more basic facilities. There are currently two such sites in operation at Wethersfield in Essex and at Crowborough in East Sussex. These sites began housing asylum seekers in 2023 and January this year respectively. Across both sites there is at present capacity to accommodate up to 1340 individuals with additional contingency capacity at Wethersfield of 400 and in the meantime, work has continue to identify further viable locations.
“I can today confirm to the House that three new ex-military sites are now under consideration: MOD Barnum in Suffolk, MOD Bicester in Oxfordshire, and MOD Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire.
“Together, these sites could eventually provide accommodation for around 3750 asylum seekers, subject to feasibility assessments, planning permission, and the necessary approvals. Those caveats are important, because whilst our commitment to the promise we have made on hotels is absolute, we have to make sure that we get this right and carry out all the relevant due diligence, so that if we do decide to proceed with an alternative site our plans are as strong as they possibly can be.
“So, let me assure members that we have learned from the previous government’s forays into this arena, and no final decision will be taken on any site until, in each case, all necessary arrangements, assessments, and approvals are in place and have been properly considered.
And in relation to the three potential sites I’ve mentioned that work is ongoing in conjunction with local and national partners, and to further support the exit from hotels, I can also confirm to the House that we’re exploring similarly the possibility of extending the use of the sites at Crowborough, which under the current arrangement is due to end next January. At Wethersfield, we’re again exploring both an extension and the best use of capacity there.
“I want to assure the House that we understand our responsibilities in this space. With any decision on asylum accommodation, public safety is, and will continue to be a critical consideration, and we will always take every possible step to minimise the impact on communities, and to be clear, wherever they are located, any asylum seeker should be in no doubt that if they break our laws, they will be caught, they will face justice, and, like thousands of foreign offenders already removed, made to leave our country.
Conservative MP for Wetherby and Easingwold, Sir Alec Shelbrooke had a number of questions about the use of RAF Linton-on-Ouse:
“Here’s a small rural community, very much isolated, and four years ago this plan was rejected on technical grounds. Three times the population, put into the local area with no means to secure people within that site, so they could roam into a village which has no amenities.”
“I’ve had many constituents inquire over the weekend, and these are the questions I’d like the minister to answer now.
“In the past, Northern Powergrid have indicated that they simply cannot cope with the electrical upgrade that would be needed, so does this mean that industrial generators will have to be brought in creating noise in this quiet village?
“Yorkshire Water spent millions of pounds upgrading the sewage works to make sure they met their effluent discharges into water correctly. That was based on the population. This would now face a three fold increase. So, does that mean there have to be effluent trucks, or would we be polluting the water drains? On that note, Madam Deputy Speaker, people who’ve closed down Linton on Ouse (the base) tell me that the drains were actually concreted in at the time.
“The minister has said that some of these sites have already been vetted. I find this hard to believe when these issues, I don’t believe, have not changed.
“The highway network has seven and a half tonne limited bridges, so this will have to go through limited road routes.
“Healthcare, the local NHS says it has no spare capacity.
“Now, perhaps what’s more worrying is that I’ve been laid on good authority that local companies have been asked to tender for the work that would be needed at this site, so I very directly ask the minister, have local companies been contacted to tender for work?
“Because if they have, that sort of makes it wonder if this is a feasibility study. And on that note, what will be the planning decisions? Will it be of North Yorkshire Council, or will it be overridden?
“Madam Deputy Speaker, to call it a plan is too grand. They don’t know what they are doing, they haven’t thought it through, and they haven’t had the decency to consult local people about it, which tells you everything you need to know about the state of chaos they are in. The words of the Right Hon Gentleman for Holborn and St Pancras in 2022 (Keir Starmer)
“This is happening under his watch. So, what has changed, Minister? This is still an inappropriate site.”
Alex Norris MP, The Minister of State, Home Department, replied:
“We are looking seriously at this site. The final decision isn’t made yet. I appreciate there may be differences of views there.
“The honourable gentleman talked about roaming. I think that is in no one’s interest. What we’ve managed to at Wethersfield, what we do at Crowborough is to ensure that people don’t just come off site and roam, they are non-detained, as the Hon. gentleman said, nevertheless, by the provision of activities and by the provision of transport, we can ensure the lightest local impact possible, and that would be our commitment for these sites also.
“With regards to the electricity and sewage, those are important parts of this process , we wouldn’t be taking forward this site if we didn’t think we had viable answers.
“On healthcare. It’s not our intention that that would impact on his local services, outside perhaps emergency services. What we’ve been able to do elsewhere is to have ordinary healthcare provided on site to ensure that there isn’t that impact on the local community.”
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