ASYLUM seekers are set to be housed in disused military bases, ferries and barges under UK Government plans to reduce spending on hotels.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick will announce the use of two RAF sites on Wednesday as he tries to reduce the £6.8 million a day the Government says it spends on hotel accommodation.
The plans have already divided opinion amongst the Conservative Party with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly having already criticised suggestions that a base in his Essex constituency would be used.
“I highlighted the remote nature of the site, the limited transport infrastructure and narrow road network and that these factors would mean the site wasn’t appropriate for asylum accommodation,” he wrote on Facebook.
However, Deputy PM Dominic Raab later told Sky News he knows that Cleverly "fully supports this policy".
Sources also downplayed the likelihood of barges and ferries being used imminently, saying none had actually been purchased yet.
Jenrick will announce that people in the UK after making Channel crossings on small boats will be housed at RAF Wethersfield and RAF Scampton.
A Government source said there is a “direction of travel” towards using ferries and barges as well but confirmed “nothing has been bought”.
“There are no barges or ferries”, the source said, following reports in multiple newspapers.
Rishi Sunak told his Cabinet on Tuesday that the cost of using hotels and the pressure it puts on local areas meant it was not sustainable.
The Prime Minister later told MPs that children cannot be exempted from plans to detain people who cross the Channel in small boats to prevent the creation of a “pull factor”.
Appearing before the Commons Liaison Committee, he also downplayed suggestions that flights under the UK Government’s stalled Rwanda policy could begin this summer.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman recently visited the country in a PR stint dubbed as something from “a disturbing holiday album” by the Greens.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We have always been upfront about the unprecedented pressure being placed on our asylum system, brought about by a significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into the country.
“We continue to work across Government and with local authorities to identify a range of accommodation options.
“The Government remains committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders as part of this process.”
