Government is set to confirm a range of new plans aimed at reducing the use of asylum seeker hotels, which could include use of accommodation on ships and in unused military bases.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is expected to say that placing asylum seekers in hotels is an “unsustainable” cost that amounts to £6m a day.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to considering options. He told Sky News that placing people in hotels offers an “incentive” for traffickers to send people across the Channel illegally.
“It encourages the business model of the criminal gangs that send more and more on this perilous journey, so we have to deal with it,” Raab said.
He confirmed the government is looking at a range of options for cheaper accommodation, including barges and ex-military barracks.
The Home Office may also be considering using disused cruise ships, according to the Guardian.
RAF bases in Lincolnshire and Essex are being considered as accommodation for people who have arrived in the UK illegally, but the foreign secretary James Cleverly has opposed the possible plans for RAF Wethersfield in his Essex constituency to be used.
“I have spoken with the immigration minister who has confirmed that while this is being considered, along with similar sites, a final decision has not been made at this stage,” the foreign secretary said in a statement.
“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.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said he has heard this kind of announcement “several times before” and that he believes the Conservative government is trying to secure votes ahead of May’s local elections.
"Our concern is that they are not dealing with the fundamental problems: they are not processing applications quick enough,” Davey told Sky News.
“By failing to do the basics right they are failing these people and they are failing the whole country.”
New Victims and Prisoners Bill to block release of prisoners