The National Audit Office has revealed that plans to remove refugees to the Bibby Stockholm, two former RAF bases, Scampton and Wethersfield, and former student accommodation in Huddersfield could eventually cost up to £1.2bn more than keeping them in hotels.

By the end of March, the bill for the new accommodation will reach at least £230 million. So far, only two of the sites have opened, housing around 900 people, according to the government watchdog.

Approval has been accelerated, without adequate safety plans or proper consultation with councils and local residents. All the schemes have faced considerable opposition from neighbouring communities and from refugee charities concerned  for refugees’ welfare. In January, 27 year-old Leonard Farruku, an asylum seeker from Albania, was found dead on the Bibby Stockholm in an apparent suicide.

Housing people at Scampton will cost £45.1 million more than hotels, while the Huddersfield accommodation will cost an extra £2million.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/20/plans-to-move-asylum-seekers-from-hotels-in-tatters-after-nao-report