We are aware that there have recently been a number of incidents outside accommodation centres recently. We can assure you that the Home Secretary and the Minister for Immigration has been clear that there is never any excuse for violence. The Home Office has said that it takes its responsibilities to those in temporary asylum accommodation and to local communities very seriously. As such, alongside the police and asylum accommodation providers, the Government is closely monitoring the situation around the country and the activities of relevant groups. Security of sites has also been enhanced and is kept under constant review.
Last year, some 45,000 people chose to cross the Channel illegally, with a third coming from Albania, and that number places immense strain on our system. I am encouraged that the Prime Minister identified illegal immigration as one of his five priorities and has now announced the introduction of the Illegal Migration Bill.
The Home Office is committed to ending the reliance on hotels to provide accommodation. The department is in the process of identifying a range of alternative sites such as disused holiday parks, former student halls and surplus military land. So far, the Home Office has located sites to house 10,000 people, and will add thousands more places in the coming months, at half the cost of hotels.
Al asylum claims lodged from within the UK are given full and careful consideration, so no one is removed who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
