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EBlair-era Home Secretary John Reid, a no-nonsense character, commented 20 years ago that home office This phrase – along with the problem – was not “fit for purpose” – has appeared again and again,
In fact, he has done so twice in the last week. Shabana MehmoodThe latest incumbent to preside over that notorious graveyard of ministerial ambitions said a few days ago that her department was “not yet fit for purpose”, After the revelation of a confidential internal report from 2023 This exposed a “culture of defeatism” on the issue of immigration and “the feeling that high failure rates are an inevitable fact of life in the system”, among other fatal flaws.
This was no big surprise, and neither were the latest findings of the Home Affairs Select Committee. its chair, dame karen bradleywho herself served as a junior Home Office minister under the Conservatives, couldn’t help but agree that, indeed, the department is “not fit for purpose” and is in need of reform.
Dame Karen and her colleagues, in particular, are right to be horrified about this Billions of rupees “wasted” on asylum hotels – a solution that satisfies no one, asylum seekers One or two people are crammed into rooms meant for short stays; The communities that host them often reluctantly worry about the disruption and violence caused by crime and protests; And this system is extremely expensive for taxpayers – cost-wise. Around £15.3 billion over the decade to 2029Such amounts are likely to cause outrage, as another tough budget is coming which will squeeze living standards once again.
Part of this failure is undoubtedly bureaucratic, arising from a culture of failure within the department. A long chain of blame must also be held responsible Conservative minister who combined bigoted rhetoric with little results,
He oversaw billions of wasted billions and chaos, and had nothing much constructive to offer other than his attempts to make it illegal to claim asylum (which cannot happen under international law) and his refusal to process claims, which allowed a huge backlog to build up.
The chimerical Rwanda plan was supposed to solve everything by providing a “safe” third country destination Accommodate about 40,000 refugees coming to Britain on small boatsBut it was ill-conceived and never got off the ground.
Historical and international experience teaches us that it is extremely difficult to stop the flow of migration. “Destroying the gangs,” the “one in, one out” agreement with France, and other measures being implemented on the French coast will take time to work. So, in the short to medium term, the reality is that thousands of irregular migrants will still find their way to the UK on small boats, while others will simply overstay their visas.
Their claims will have to be processed far more quickly, and some massive third-party settlements will be required in the case of unsuccessful applicants for asylum who cannot be refunded. human rights law Modifications may have to be made to prevent misuse of the systemAnd more resources will be needed to clear the remains of the backlog that grew inexcusably under the Tories.
Still, housing will be needed for thousands of people who have committed no crime other than entering the country and trying to claim asylum – a universal human right. That accommodation cannot be in hotelsAnd the Government cannot proceed on the basis of its current target, which is to close down the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament. The public will not tolerate this. Given the state of public opinion, it is imperative that the Prime Minister implement this quickly.
The government should build new prefab sites for asylum seekers, as proposed by ministers, and convert disused military accommodation – provided that these dilapidated buildings can be made suitable for human habitation. This will cost money, but will be much more acceptable to communities than hotels with zero local consultation.
Such detention centers should provide what the public expects – clean, orderly and safe accommodation for all concerned, for stays of at most weeks rather than years, with restricted freedom of movement. One of the most serious consequences of the default use of hotels was allowing extremists to promote race-based fear and denigrate the entire concept of refugee status.
Perhaps the home office that was never quite fit for purpose needs to be reorganized, although this has been tried before and made no difference; The prisons are still close to breaking point as they are under the Ministry of Justice. Such desirable reforms, in any case, fail to address the urgent need: ending the use of asylum hotels in the coming months.
it has to be done: During the epidemic, with the help of the army, “Nightingale” hospitals were built in impressive timeAnd finding a way to safely accommodate refugees may not be beyond the capacity of an advanced G7 economy. This would reduce tensions and demonstrate that a Labor government can get something popular done for change. Ms. Mahmood needs to don her hard hat and hi-vis jacket and get the construction crew on site without any delay.