§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What reports they have received about the suitability of the Thorncliffe Hotel, Heston, Middlesex, for the accommodation of asylum seekers, and how much it has cost, to the latest convenient date so far, to house in that hotel the passengers from the Ariana Airlines hijack plane which arrived at Stansted on 11 February 2000. [HL20]
§ Lord RookerThe Refugee Arrivals Project, a voluntary sector body, is grant funded by the Home Office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers arriving at the three main London airports—Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Under the terms of their grant agreement, they are required to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that accommodation used conforms to all the relevant environmental health and health and safety legislation and regulations, meets current fire regulations and provides a safe environment for asylum seekers. From time to time, issues about the adequacy of the accommodation have been raised with the Home Office. but I am satisfied that conditions are acceptable.
It is not possible to identify the precise costs of housing passengers from the Ariana Airlines hijack plane in the Thorncliffe Hotel. Some of the passengers are housed in other property and part of the costs would have been incurred in any event under the terms of the agreement between the Refugee Arrivals Project and the Thorncliffe Hotel. The total accommodation costs for the passengers as at 31 March was £416,087.