Dame Priti Patel said the Government’s asylum accommodation is in need of reform and there are ‘serious questions’ to be asked of the Home Office.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel said the Government’s asylum accommodation system is in need of reform and there are “serious questions” to be asked of the Home Office.
Dame Priti told MPs the current hotel-based system is “obviously not working” and proposed Greek-style reception centres where applications could be processed quickly onsite.
The Conservative MP for Witham said reception centres would ensure better accountability around public spending, in addition to providing a deterrent effect to those entering the UK illegally.
During a debate on the cost of asylum and migration, Dame Priti said: “When it comes to asylum accommodation, it’s obvious that it’s not working.
“I think there are serious questions to be asked of the department and ministerial direction in decisions at least over the last 14 months.”
Referencing her 2021 New Plan for Immigration, Dame Priti said: “You could break down the ultimate cost and be quite transparent about that, by planning for future accommodation needs, working to establish the Greek-style reception centres, and increase detained sites.
“Which of course speaks to not even using hotels, but actually having Government-funded accommodation which would have assisted in processing claims quickly and promptly, which clearly is the crux of all of this.”
She added: “With processing claims going up by over 100%, there serious questions to be asked there. Why was a digital level of processing around asylum claims that would have taken place at these centres not forthcoming and why did that not materialise?
“And that’s only one aspect of what should have been the New Plan for Immigration and implementing these serious measures.
“That would have led to financial transparency but quite frankly accountability around public spending, but also having the deterrent effect of those trying to enter the UK through dangerous and illegal routes.
“Reducing the pull factor by having accommodation – that quite frankly isn’t moving round from one hotel after the other – but processing claims in these centres and having cost effective solutions.”
