UK earmarks £700m for small boat arrivals until 2030

At least £700 million has been set aside by the Home Office to help manage the arrival of migrants on small boats until 2030, according to previously unnoticed commercial plans. 

These projections were made public last week, coinciding with Home Secretary James Cleverly’s trip to Rwanda, where he signed a new treaty aimed at “stopping the boats.”

A Home Office spokesperson said it would be “inappropriate to comment” on an ongoing procurement project.

But the publicly-available information, on the government’s contracts website, shows that the Home Office wants at least one major partner to help run two large facilities in Kent until at least 2030 – and potentially to 2034.

The invitation to businesses is the clearest public sign yet that officials are planning for the small boats to continue arriving.