Taxpayers could pay up to nearly £60 million for small boat migrants to be treated by a private health firm, reports say. The Home Office has reportedly signed a deal with Doctor PA Limited to provide “urgent healthcare needs of individuals arriving via small boats”.
The contract is set to run for at least the next six years but could be extended to 2035, it is claimed. It comes as the Labour Government continues to try to reduce the number of illegal Channel crossings, with a pilot of the so-called ‘one in, one out’ migrants deal with France now underway. Doctor PA’s new agreement with the Government started last month, with a specialist medical team tasked with treating sick or injured migrants arriving after crossing the Channel, according to reports.
If the deal runs for the full 10 years, it will cost the taxpayer £58.7 million, according to The Sun, which broke the story.
The contract reportedly says Doctor PA, which is said to have worked in immigration removal centres and prisons, will care for migrants “from the point of disembarkation to dispersal”.
This is said to include the Manston Reception Centre in Kent, where migrants are processed after arriving in the UK on small boats.
A Labour source told The Sun that the Government “inherited a crisis” from the Tories and “this is the cost of their failure”.
On Wednesday, it was announced British border security officers have been sent to the Balkans for the first time as part of efforts to stem the flow of migrants being smuggled into the UK.
The officers have been dispatched to explore new ways of working with European border patrol agency Frontex to track down and arrest people smugglers.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood hosted her counterparts from across the Western Balkans, as well as other European allies, at a summit in London aimed at striking deals to tackle illegal migrations.
She said: “I have instructed UK law enforcement to explore all options including deploying operations in the West Balkans to tackle illegal migration routes.
“I have pledged to do whatever it takes to secure our borders. That is exactly what I am doing.”
The Express has contacted the Home Office for a comment.