Home Office earmarks £1.1bn to manage arrival of Channel migrants

The Home Office has earmarked up to £1.1 billion to manage Channel migrants arriving on small boats for the next decade, according to official documents.

Officials are seeking commercial partners to run two large facilities until at least 2030 at a cost of £700 million which will receive and process illegal migrants crossing the Channel.

The procurement documents revealing the proposals were published on the Home Office’s website at the same time as James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, flew out to sign a new treaty with Rwanda aimed at deterring migrants from crossing the Channel.

They projected that small boat crossings could continue up to 2034, raising the cost to at least £1.16 billion over 10 years if the annual bill remained the same.

It comes on top of the £290 million, revealed last week by The Telegraph, that the Government is spending on the Migration and Economic Development agreement with Rwanda under which the African nation will take asylum seekers from the UK.

Rwanda Bill

The disclosure of the documents by the BBC comes just a day before MPs vote on Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill aimed at securing deportation flights to the African country after they were blocked by a Supreme Court ruling Rwanda unsafe for asylum seekers.

The Bill, which is facing criticism from both Left and Right wings of the Conservative party, declares Rwanda safe for asylum seekers and aims to pave the way for the flights by limiting illegal migrants’ rights to appeal their removal from the UK.

The documents, however, are the clearest public sign yet that officials are planning for the small boats to continue arriving.

The invitation for commercial partners centre on the UK Border Force’s rescue and arrivals base in Dover docks, known as Western Jet Foil. This is a secure facility where migrants rescued from the English Channel are initially brought ashore, registered and given emergency medical treatment.

The second part of the contract covers the much larger Manston centre which was designed to accommodate up to 1,600 migrants while officials work out where to house them.

‘Wrap-around’ services

“The purpose of the Disembarkation and Solas [Saving Lives At Sea centre] Centre at Western Jet Foil and the National Reception Centre at Manston are to register and process individuals arriving in the UK on small boats from across the English Channel,” says the Home Office web page.

“The aim of these centres is to provide a safe and secure environment, allowing Border Force to process arrivals with dignity and respect.

“The Home Office is currently transforming the site at Manston to establish permanent, purpose-built facilities, co-ordinated by the Manston Transformation Programme.”

Under the plan, the page explains, the Home Office’s partners would run extensive “wrap-around” services at both locations, including catering, security and medical support.

Officials have calculated these services would cost £700 million over the first six years – and contracts could be extended by a further four. But it could rise to at least £1.16 billion over 10 years.

The contract notice emphasises that the plan is still in development and is far enough advanced for potential bidders to be invited to meet officials at Manston in the new year. But they will need to keep the details of the government plans secret by signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement.