The Home Office is paying for thousands of empty hotel beds to avoid overcrowding at migrant processing centres, MPs were told on Monday.
The government department keeps a “buffer” of about 5,000 beds across the country in case of a sudden influx of Channel crossings, the House of Commons public accounts committee was told.
The figure was revealed by Home Office second permanent secretary Simon Ridley when questioned by MPs on Monday.
The Home Office was “making sure we’ve got a buffer that is close to 5,000 beds … so we’re carrying a large number of empty beds in order to let us move people out (of Manston),” Mr Ridley told the committee.
He had been asked how the department was making sure migrants are processed quickly and within legal time limits on arrival in the UK.
“We have got excess beds that we are paying for that we can move people into immediately,” he said, to which MPs expressed surprise at the number set aside.
Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft said: “We have to have a buffer somewhere because if we don’t, we know what happens, we have people for more than 24 hours in Manston.
“I hope the committee would support the suggestion of having a buffer, can have an argument about how big the buffer should be …”
UK government unveils 'robust' bill to stop migrant Channel crossings - in pictures
Home Secretary Suella Braverman wants to use barges and sites including converted military bases to house asylum seekers and reduce the £6 million ($7.7 million) daily cost of hotel accommodation while people await a decision on their status.
The Home Office hopes to stop using hotels “as soon as possible”, Mr Rycroft said, without giving the committee a target date.
But he insisted the department was “on track” to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s target of cutting part of the backlog of asylum cases by the end of the year.
Meanwhile Abi Tierney, head of passports, visas and immigration, said the Home Office was “confident” it would have 2,500 caseworkers in September to hasten decisions.
Ms Tierney said about 1,700 asylum decisions were being made by the Home Office each week and it was on track to increase that to 2,500 by the end of July.
Earlier, Downing Street said the number of migrants risking their lives to cross the Channel is “still too large” and could increase further over the summer.
Mr Sunak promised to “stop the boats” as one of his main policy priorities, but so far this year 12,772 people have been detected making the journey, including 1,339 in the past three days.
About 686 migrants were detected on Friday, the highest daily total this year, followed by 384 on Saturday and 269 on Sunday, with crossings continuing on Monday.
The provisional total for 2023 so far is about 4 per cent lower than this time last year when about 13,200 crossings were recorded.
Meanwhile the government’s efforts to tackle the issue remain mired in difficulties.
The Illegal Migration Bill returns to the Commons on Tuesday after being hindered in the Lords, where peers defeated the government 20 times to rewrite the legislation.
The government is expected to seek to overturn many of the changes, although it may be forced to offer concessions to get the Bill back on track.
Efforts to house asylum seekers on a barge moored in Portland, Dorset, have also been delayed.
Five weeks after Ms Braverman promised MPs it would be in place within a fortnight, the Bibby Stockholm vessel was still in Cornwall where it had been undergoing refurbishment.
And the government’s policy of sending some asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is set for a legal battle in the Supreme Court.
“I think we always knew that, as we move into the summer months, crossings will escalate," Mr Sunak's official spokesman said.
“We are continuing to stop significant numbers of crossings.
“I still believe that you are more likely to be stopped and turned back than to make the crossing, and that’s because of the work with our French counterparts and the extra support that we have put in.
“But clearly the numbers making the journeys are still too large and that’s why we need the other elements of our ‘stop the boats’ package,” which includes the Rwanda deal and the Illegal Migration Bill.
Day 5, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Given the problems Sri Lanka have had in recent times, it was apt the winning catch was taken by Dinesh Chandimal. He is one of seven different captains Sri Lanka have had in just the past two years. He leads in understated fashion, but by example. His century in the first innings of this series set the shock win in motion.
Stat of the day This was the ninth Test Pakistan have lost in their past 11 matches, a run that started when they lost the final match of their three-Test series against West Indies in Sharjah last year. They have not drawn a match in almost two years and 19 matches, since they were held by England at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2015.
The verdict Mickey Arthur basically acknowledged he had erred by basing Pakistan’s gameplan around three seam bowlers and asking for pitches with plenty of grass in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Why would Pakistan want to change the method that has treated them so well on these grounds in the past 10 years? It is unlikely Misbah-ul-Haq would have made the same mistake.
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
Racecard
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
RECORD%20BREAKER
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MANDOOB
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Ali%20Kalthami%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Mohammed%20Dokhei%2C%20Sarah%20Taibah%2C%20Hajar%20Alshammari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
