At least £700million has been put aside to manage small boat arrivals until 2030, commercial plans have revealed. The projects were published online last week and predict the Channel crossings could continue up to 2034.
It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a critical vote in Parliament over his adjusted Rwanda plan, which he says will reduce boat crossings. The newly published plans, available online, show that commercial partners would run extensive services at “permanent” facilities.
The Home Office wants at least one major partner to help run two large facilities in Kent until at least 2030, the documents reveal. It declined to respond to the report, saying it would be “inappropriate to comment” on an ongoing procurement project.
The plans suggest that the Government is fully expecting boat crossings to continue. The Home Office has said its modelling indicates that almost all appeals against deportation would fail under the revised Rwanda policy. MPs will vote on Mr Sunak’s new legislation on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister could face a rebellion from his own MPs over the policy, with immigration minister Robert Jenrick resigning last week claiming it had been watered-down and was now too “weak”. The plan was previously cancelled by the UK’s Supreme Court, which declared Rwanda was not a safe country to send illegal migrants to.
The Home Office is asking for a partner to help run UK Border Force’s rescue and arrivals base in Dover docks, known as Western Jet Foil. This is where migrants are brought to shore, registered and given emergency treatment after being rescued from the English Channel.
The second facility involved in the contract is the Manston centre, which had previously come under intense scrutiny for overcrowding and chaotic management. The centre was designed to accommodate up to 1,600 migrants while officials work out where to house them.
The centre aims to “provide a safe and secure environment, allowing Border Force to process arrivals with dignity and respect”, the report says.
While the contracts are estimated to cost £700m over the first six years, they could be extended by a further four. If the annual costs remained the same, the government could be preparing to pay out at least £1.16bn over 10 years, the BBC reports.
