Fourteen Kent Council leaders have written a letter to the UK Secretary of State following the growing issues at Manston immigration centre. The fourteen local authorities have said that they are now at ‘breaking point’ and there is now too much burden on the county.
It comes as KCC announce that there is no more places for Years 7-9 at Kent schools because of the number of migrant children now taking them. They say that it is due to the ‘unexpected and therefore unplanned’ arrivals of refugee children disproportionately placed by the Home Office in these two areas. Kent taxpayers are annoyed that their tax is being used to educate migrant children rather than their own.
There are also issues now about overcrowding and disease at the Manston site. There are still 3,500 people being held at Manston -a long way off what that government would consider to be manageable levels, which should be under 1,000. KCC say that there is a growing concern about the potential for disorder too.
About 600 migrants were moved off the Manson site by 7pm yesterday, according to the North Thanet MP, Sir Roger Gale. More will be moved today. He expects numbers will be back down to around 1,500 by the weekend, having been assured there are hotel rooms available. But critics say the Government are just moving the problem from one place to another, without actually dealing with it. North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale said ‘This must never be allowed to happen again.’
The Government has had a number of years to resolve this issue and speed up the asylum processing, but they have dithered and spent more time ousting each other as Prime Minister, rather than focus on urgent issues.
Now the problem is overflowing and the Government are drowning in asylum applications and red tape issues.
The Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick, has said that the use of the word ‘invasion’ reflects the very real concerns some people feel in places like Dover when they see small boats arriving on almost a daily basis.
He then backtracked a little by adding ‘In this job you do have to choose your language carefully. It’s not a phrase that I’ve used but I understand the need to be straightforward with the general public.’
The Home Office is facing legal action over conditions at the Manston migrant processing centre – as reports suggest asylum seekers were removed from the site and “abandoned” at London Victoria station. Mr Jenrick said that a judicial review is being brought following reports of severe overcrowding at the centre in Kent. He expressed hope that Manston will return to being “legally compliant” soon, which means that they are aware that it has not currently been compliant.
