HC Deb 08 March 2002 vol 381 cc595-7W
Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the likely availability of staff for the proposed asylum accommodation centre at Throckmorton; [36768]

(2) what his estimate is of the (a) cost of construction and (b) running costs of each asylum accommodation centre. [36710]

Angela Eagle

The Home Office recently launched a procurement competition, under the European Commission Directives, in respect of the proposed Accommodation Centres. The information requested cannot be provided as it would prejudice the Home Office's ability to obtain best value for money from the competition as prospective bidders would become aware of our commercial expectations.

Work has been undertaken on behalf of the Home Office to assess economic sustainability in respect of all the sites identified as having the potential for development as an Accommodation Centre. Those assessments will be made available to local authorities as part of the planning process.