§ 11. Mr. Gwyn Prosser (Dover)What plans he has to increase the asylum estate in the Dover constituency. [104117]
§ The Minister for Citizenship and Immigration (Beverley Hughes)There are no plans to put further asylum centres in the Dover constituency.
§ Mr. ProsserI thank my hon. Friend for her answer, and I know that her assurances will be well received by my constituents in Dover, who rightly believe that they have borne more than their fair share of responsibility for supporting and dealing with asylum seekers. Does she accept that the past poor performance of the National Asylum Support Service has given us bad decisions and inadequate consultations, which have led to great problems, especially with respect to asylum accommodation? What measures has she taken to improve the performance of NASS?
§ Beverley HughesI agree that my hon. Friend's constituency has arguably borne more than its fair share of the difficulties involved in supporting asylum seekers. I thank him not just for the constructive way in which he has represented his constituents, but for recognising that we all have some responsibility for the problem.
I hope my hon. Friend will acknowledge that the measures adopted in northern France have resulted in a big drop in the number of clandestine entrants arriving in Dover. I can tell him unequivocally that we will not create any more induction and removal centres for asylum seekers in Dover, or use Dover for any accommodation purposes beyond our existing contracts.
As for NASS, I am trying to deal with all the issues my hon. Friend raised in the regionalisation and review that I have instituted, particularly communication and joint working between NASS and local authorities in the regional consortium.