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The Home Office "cut corners" and made "a bid of mediocre decisions", whilst nether unit to halt migrants being housed successful hotels, erstwhile it paid £15m for an asbestos-contaminated derelict prison, the government's spending watchdog has said.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said the magnitude paid for the Northeye tract successful East Sussex, purchased successful 2023 nether the Conservative government, was much than doubly what the seller had paid conscionable a twelvemonth earlier.
A study recovered "corners [were] cut" truthful the tract could beryllium acquired astatine velocity to location asylum seekers, contempt an appraisal deeming it "high risk", and that the tract was yet deemed "unfit for its intended intent owed to contamination".
The Home Office said the study related to the actions of the past authorities and that it remained "committed to ending the usage of hotels and... achieving amended worth for the taxpayer".
In December 2022, then-prime curate Rishi Sunak delivered a connection successful Parliament successful which helium vowed to extremity the usage of hotels to location asylum seekers, saying that the authorities would "work to execute this arsenic rapidly arsenic possible".
In its report, the NAO said the connection "generated important unit wrong the Home Office to place and unafraid sites for asylum accommodation astatine pace".
It added that, the pursuing January, a determination to get Northeye was taken by a tiny radical of ministers and officials from crossed Whitehall, contempt the "technical owed diligence and approvals process not having been undertaken".
The radical included the curate for migration and the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the study said, positions past held by Robert Jenrick and Oliver Dowden.
In February 2023, an biology reappraisal identified a contamination hazard from "asbestos-containing materials successful existing buildings and contaminated ground", portion a owed diligence study assessed conditions astatine the tract arsenic "high risk".
The diligence study besides estimated the outgo of repairs to buildings astatine the tract to beryllium £20m, though this fig was not included successful proposal aboriginal submitted to ministers.
The pursuing month, Jenrick announced that Northeye would beryllium developed to location 1,200 people, and the merchantability was completed successful September 2023.
The last terms paid for the tract was £15.4m, including £0.9m paid to the vendors - Brockwell Group Bexhill LLP - due to the fact that the Home Office had underestimated however agelong it would instrumentality to implicit the purchase.
Brockwell had bought Northeye successful August 2022 for £6.3m.
The costs of remediation due to the fact that of the contamination astatine the tract were estimated to beryllium betwixt £1.1m and £3.6m.
The NAO concluded that the Home Office's effort to get Northeye "within conscionable a fewer months... led it to chopped corners and marque a bid of mediocre decisions".
"This resulted successful it purchasing a tract that was unsuitable for [its] archetypal purpose, and it paying much for it than it needed to."
In July, the Home Office said nary determination had been taken connected the usage of the tract and that it would “consider its strategy and broader requirements earlier taking a presumption connected the aboriginal usage of it”.
Responding to the NAO's report, it said: “Having inherited an asylum strategy nether exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of cases stuck successful a backlog, we stay committed to ending the usage of hotels and lodging radical successful much suitable and cost-effective achieving amended worth for the taxpayer".
“We volition proceed to reconstruct bid to the strategy truthful that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly."
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a Conservative MP and president of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said that, “once again, rushed and misjudged decision-making has resulted successful the Home Office overpaying for an asylum accommodation tract that is not acceptable for purpose".
“I americium acrophobic that the Home Office deviated from modular practice, overlooked warnings astir the information of the tract and lacked expertise to decently oversee the acquisition of Northeye.”
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