UK asylum plans: Barges and ex-bases set to be used to house migrants
On Wednesday, the UK government is expected to announce plans to move away from using hotels to house migrants and instead accommodate them in ferries, barges, and ex-military bases.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is expected to reveal that ex-military sites in Lincolnshire and Essex have already been secured to house people arriving through unauthorised means. The RAF Scampton site in Lincolnshire will also be used for the same purpose.
The government is considering using disused cruise ships, empty holiday parks, and former student halls as alternatives to hotels.
The plans are being made to combat the £6.2m a day expense of housing migrants in hotels.
However, the plans and the locations of the new accommodations are likely to be controversial.
The use of the Wethersfield base in Essex and RAF Scampton have already been criticised by local MPs. Each site will have the capacity to house 1,500-2,000 migrants, and the government is considering using a “giant barge” to house people arriving in small boats.
The government is expected to use the new accommodations for new arrivals rather than to rehouse people currently in hotels.
The government’s asylum proposals, set out in the Illegal Migration Bill, are being debated in Parliament. The legislation aims to stop migrants from claiming asylum if they arrive through unauthorised means.
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