According to reports from Sky News, the UK government plans to begin moving migrants out of hotels and into military bases "within weeks". The move is part of an effort to end the use of
hotels as accommodation for asylum seekers. The government is assessing a number of sites, including the former RAF Scampton, for their suitability to accommodate asylum seekers. The potential for migrants to be housed at RAF Scampton could put plans for a £300 million regeneration of the former base in jeopardy.
Asylum seekers have been housed in hotels in Skegness for more than a year, raising concerns from local residents and attracting protests to the area, with members of far-right group Patriot Alternative among those attending a demonstration last month. East Lindsey District Council leader Craig Leyland said five hotels' contracts to house asylum seekers had been extended to beyond the main tourist season.
The government's position is that it is working to end the use of hotels and bring forward a range of alternative sites, including former student halls and surplus military sites, for longer-term accommodation while ensuring that asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, are supported in the accommodation system. The best way to relieve pressures on the asylum system is to stop the boats coming to the UK in the first place, which is why the government aims to break the business model of people smugglers. The government has introduced legislation which it believes will ensure people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and "swiftly removed to another country".
The Illegal Migration Bill returns to the House of Commons on Monday, March 27 for its committee stage, where MPs will examine it line by line over two days. It aims to stop people claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means, although it has been denounced by the UN’s refugee agency as an effective “asylum ban”.
Analysis by the Refugee Council found that more than 250,000 people, including up to 45,000 children, could have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible under the Bill in the first three years, while the cost of detaining and accommodating migrants could hit £9bn in that period. The charity said its calculations are based on the Home Office being able to remove 10,000 people to Rwanda in each of the three years, detaining people for an average of 28 days and accommodating those who are not detained.
The government has always been upfront about the unprecedented pressure being placed on the UK asylum system, brought about by a significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into the country. The government remains committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders to identify a range of accommodation options. The hope is that the new government initiatives to disperse migrants will be put into place, which will hopefully see hotels return to their normal use.
In conclusion, the UK government is set to begin moving migrants out of hotels and into military bases "within weeks" in an effort to end the use of hotels as accommodation for asylum seekers. The government is assessing a number of sites, including the former RAF Scampton, for their suitability to accommodate asylum seekers. While the Illegal Migration Bill aims to stop people claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means, it has been denounced by the UN’s refugee agency as an effective “asylum ban”. The Refugee Council found that more than 250,000 people could have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible under the Bill in the first three years, while the cost of detaining and accommodating migrants could hit £9bn in that period. Photo by Harvey Milligan, Wikimedia commons.