The Government are confident that the level of due diligence carried out on sites has improved since 2024 and that value-for-money assessments now take place at the appropriate stage. I can assure the noble Lord that lessons have been learned from large site acquisitions that occurred under the previous Government and are now being implemented to inform our future accommodation procurement.

To ask His Majesty’s Government how, in expanding the use of large-scale sites for asylum accommodation, they will ensure that lessons learnt from the operation of Napier Barracks and the RAF Wethersfield sites will be applied to new facilities from the outset.

One of the improvements that the Government intend to make is to ensure that interviews take place on-site. That is good for cost, for the people being interviewed and for the taxpayer as a whole.

I thank the Minister for that Answer. A previous Permanent Secretary to the Home Office told a Select Committee of the House of Commons that there were a thousand lessons to be learned. I am not going to ask the Minister to outline the answers to all those thousand lessons, but can I specifically ask him about the practice of transporting people long distances to Croydon and other places, simply to have video conferencing interviews? It is an absolute waste of money; surely provision could be provided on-site.

I think the noble Baroness will know that the UK Government, with this Labour Party now as the prime mover, have invested a considerable amount of resource in improving accommodation for troops across the country, including the biggest-ever engagement in improving accommodation for service men and women in their communities. That is one thing we are trying to do. We are, at the moment, looking at Cameron barracks as one of the options. We are undertaking due diligence, and no final decisions have been taken. In the event of any decision being taken, we will make sure that the accommodation is up to a decent standard, which I think is only fair to those who are using it.

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that the Government are proposing to spend over £1 million refurbishing the Cameron barracks in Inverness to house asylum seekers. Will he promise that there will be a similar amount of money to refurbish other barracks that are currently occupied by our soldiers?

As the noble Lord will know, we have announced that we wish to examine the opportunity for Crowborough barracks. We are under- taking due diligence at the moment. That involves discussions with a range of authorities, including the police, local authorities, the local health service and, indeed, the local Member of Parliament. No final decision has been taken as yet.

My Lords, on the question of barracks, Crowborough barracks in East Sussex is routinely used for the Kent and Sussex Army Cadet Forces as well as the local school CCFs, but it seems that the Home Office will now be turfing them out and using the barracks for accommodation for asylum seekers. At the same time, the Government say they want to support young people. Do the Government really think that this is a good example of how to treat and invest in tomorrow’s UK citizens?

I say to my noble friend what I said to the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering: this Labour Government have invested more money in servicepeople’s housing than any Government previously over the last few years. We have done that to upgrade housing that was left to go to wrack and ruin by the previous Government. I am proud of the fact that my colleagues in the Ministry of Defence have committed to that, have seen it through and are improving standards for service men and women across the country.

My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that servicemen’s accommodation is in the terrible state it is in because the last Government privatised it?

I am afraid these are turning into defence questions, but I shall do my best. I simply say to my noble friend that the previous Government did invest in putting people on ships; it was called the “Bibby Stockholm”. As a result of the failures of the “Bibby Stockholm” to provide a decent standard of accommodation, one of the first actions that this Government took was to scrap it and to provide better-quality accommodation for people who were arriving in this country in large numbers, largely as a result of the failure of the last Government to achieve stopping the boats in the first place.

My Lords, my noble friend the Minister will know my view that the best barracks for sailors are ships. I am sure he would agree that the way of getting around it from that side of life is that we should order as many ships as possible as quickly as possible. Does he agree with that?

Following a review and downgrading of the remedial works required at Napier Barracks before the site is handed to developers, a limited time extension has been agreed with the Ministry of Defence to use the site for asylum accommodation until 30 September 2025.

The Home Office continuously reviews the accommodation estate to ensure there is sufficient capacity to meet demand whilst delivering value for money for the UK taxpayer.

Migrant Help act as a main point of contact for all Non-Government Organisation (NGO) activity and outreach work in the wider community, and a number of organisations are currently engaged with asylum seekers accommodated at Napier Barracks.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

A Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is normally used in the development of a Local Plan by a local planning authority. However, in the case of a change of use application which was the subject of the Special Development Order (SDO) then an SCI would generally not be required. It is for the developer to decide if they wish to submit an SCI which would usually provide a summary of who, when and how stakeholders had been engaged with. An SCI will not be produced as it is not a requirement of the SDO; however, we have sought to engage with the local community through correspondence and the provision of relevant information on the gov.uk website.

The United Kingdom has a statutory obligation to provide support and accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. The record numbers of individuals illegally crossing the Channel has meant the asylum acommodation system is under immense pressure. Ongoing use of Napier and the development of new accommodation models, are vital to our ability to continue to meet the ongoing demand to accommodate destitute asylum seekers.

To ensure that this much-needed facility continues to provide accommodation, officials prepared a planning proposal extending our use of Napier until 2025, and on 27 August 2021 we laid a Special Development Order (SDO) which came into effect on 21 September 2021. A statement of community involvement will not be produced as it is not a requirement of the Special Development Order; however, we have sought to engage with the local community through correspondence and the provision of relevant information on the gov.uk website.

Western Jetfoil at Dover is a reception area for individuals rescued from the Channel. Napier Barracks is not a detention facility. No individuals are held under immigration detention at either Western Jetfoil or Napier Barracks.

Manston is a processing centre and short-term holding facility, not a detention facility. As of 1500hrs on 24 November 2022, no persons were held under immigration detention at Manston. Manston provides a mix of different types of accommodation to allow the Home Office to flex to meet the demands of fluctuating numbers and cohorts of people crossing the Channel. That inevitably brings a level of fluidity to capacity levels.