Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of funding provided to the French authorities for securing the shared border in Calais and Dunkirk is used to ensure adequate reception facilities for refugees in that area; and whether that proportion has increased to support the French Authorities’ current covid-19 sheltering operation.

Of the €50 million allocation made to implement the terms of the Sandhurst Treaty in 2018, £1.1 million was committed to support the development of reception centres for migrants in France. These centres provide support to vulnerable migrants, such as those who have been victims of violence and human trafficking.

As indicated in previous responses, £3.6 million of the Sandhurst package was specifically allocated to supporting the development of the Dublin and Dubs processes to support transfers of eligible children to the UK, including training for those working with unaccompanied children, family tracing and targeted information campaigns.

We continue to work closely with France on border and migration issues, including in response to Covid-19, but we have not been asked for funding to support reception centres during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown in France, over 600 migrants have been moved from camps to accommodation centres to aid with social distancing measures. Within these centres, individuals are provided with medical and administrative support, and given the opportunity to lodge an asylum claim.