Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on the use of Napier Barracks as contingency asylum accommodation; and what steps they will take further to those findings.
Napier and Penally have been used to accommodate destitute asylum seekers. On 1 December 2020, 403 asylum seekers were accommodated at Napier and 148 at Penally. On 1 March 2021, these figures were 55 and 65 respectively.
The department acknowledges the ICIBI’s decision to publish on 8 March 2021 the initial findings from site visits to Napier Barracks and Penally. The ICIBI’s inspection report will be laid before Parliament in the usual way after the inspection has concluded. The Department will issue a formal response alongside the report as it is published on Gov.UK.
It is not known when the final inspection report will be received as this is a matter for the ICIBI.