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Post by northwestman on Jun 17, 2023 23:21:35 GMT 1
An Australian travel firm previously slammed for its handling of Covid quarantine hotels has been quietly handed a £1.6bn contract covering the UK’s new asylum accommodation ships, The Independent can reveal. Corporate Travel Management (CTM) was put in charge of the lucrative two-year arrangement in February, weeks before the government revealed it would use a barge as its first offshore accommodation for asylum seekers. The contract was awarded directly to CTM without competition. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/barge-australia-asylum-contract-travel-b2354578.html |
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Post by mattmw on Jun 18, 2023 9:00:59 GMT 1
Said a few months ago to keep an eye on how contracts are awarded to accommodate asylum seekers, and who the contracts are awarded to. There are billions being spent and accountability from the Home Office is terrible.
With all the focus on Johnson last week Braverman’s car crash attendance to a select committee on how they are tackling asylum cases missed a lot of the news channels. Poorly prepared and no idea on numbers of case workers employed, and more worrying no idea where around 150 children are in the system
Think the system is near to collapse from speaking to colleagues in the civil service.
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Post by staffordshrew on Jun 18, 2023 11:10:50 GMT 1
To stray a little off the topic, I don't think it's just the asylum system that's near to collapse. An appication made at the start of May to the land registry, expected to take two weeks, still isn't done.
Our public services have been dismantled in front of our eyes. It's going to take a lot of hard work and money for the next government to sort out the mess that's been allowed to build up.
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Post by mattmw on Jun 29, 2023 10:33:08 GMT 1
And to no one’s surprise the Courts have now found the Governments plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda illegal.
Tend to think this was the plan all along as the whole system was unworkable and massively expensive - now the government can ditch it and blame the courts, lefty lawyers and Gary Lineker for stopping them
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Post by staffordshrew on Jun 29, 2023 13:21:45 GMT 1
And to no one’s surprise the Courts have now found the Governments plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda illegal. Tend to think this was the plan all along as the whole system was unworkable and massively expensive - now the government can ditch it and blame the courts, lefty lawyers and Gary Lineker for stopping them Don't worry, Sunak intends to waste more of our money on another appeal....
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Post by The Clash 1966 on Jun 29, 2023 20:50:07 GMT 1
Should have put them on a plane at midnight and kept quiet about it 👍
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2023 6:22:03 GMT 1
Should have put them on a plane at midnight and kept quiet about it 👍 Human rights not really your bag then?
If I could point you in the direction of the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Be careful what you wish for owd lad. It might be asylum seekers this year, but no-one knows who their target will be next.
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Post by mattmw on Jun 30, 2023 7:32:52 GMT 1
Should have put them on a plane at midnight and kept quiet about it 👍 The one key drawback to that approach is the Government don't even know who it is they are supposed to be putting on the planes. The report below was published yesterday (not burying bad news while the Appeal Court decision was delivered) and paints a very poor picture of the Home Office processes assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1166304/An_inspection_of_the_Home_Office_s_operations_to_effect_the_removal_of_Foreign_National_Offenders_Oct_2022_to_Feb_2023.pdfThis relates to the deporation of known, convicted foreign nationals who can be deported back to their country of orgin, but even these aren't happening as the Home Office recording systems are so poor they can’t identify who needs to be removed. The report states "There is insufficient information to effectively identify which FNOs could be removed from the country today. The Home Office does not have an overarching view of its caseworking system. In order to establish the current state of a particular case, case owners have to manually interrogate individual case records. This is no way to run a government department." This is the sytem for dealing with known criminals, never mind the much bigger issue of asylum cases. The idea this government could get to the stage of sending hundred of people to Rwanda each week is highly improbable. |
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Post by staffordshrew on Jun 30, 2023 9:37:11 GMT 1
Rwanda? The idea is barking mad.
Fiona Bruce stunned after asking BBC QT audience to raise hand if they support Rwanda plan.
"Nobody in the audience put up their hand before some members began to applaud".
Just get those claims processed, accept those that pass, send back those that fail. Should never have been left to get into this mess in the first place. |
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Post by kenwood on Jun 30, 2023 16:34:49 GMT 1
Rwanda processes about 250 applications per year . The UK processes about 19,000 .
In Rwanda we pay for approx 100 units accommodation which takes over a 12 month period about 500:immigrants . Once in Rwanda there is nothing to stop immigrants leaving their accommodation. It is quite possible therefore that some will leave and make their way back to start the process of being allowed to stay in this Country all over again.
Should the Rwanda authorities decide that an immigrant has met the relevant criteria they will not be sent back to the UK . That’s it, Rwanda is their final destination unless, of course , they decide to leave and , as mentioned decide to start the process all over again. That is another small boat trip 😳
Immigrants in this country are more likely to go “ underground “ rather than face a flight to Rwanda .
The whole process is an absolute bloody joke - the cost off the scale and Braverman completely out of her depth. She is clueless .
Should Labour win the next election they will be presented with so many problems . This Tory government has well and truly shafted us and it could take absolute decades before we recover .
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Post by The Clash 1966 on Jul 1, 2023 17:22:34 GMT 1
Should have put them on a plane at midnight and kept quiet about it 👍 Human rights not really your bag then?
If I could point you in the direction of the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Be careful what you wish for owd lad. It might be asylum seekers this year, but no-one knows who their target will be next.
love the quote but I really doubt it will get anything like 30's Germany here. Let's face it there does seem to be a great deal of freeloaders that arrive on the small boats too . I used to work in the British consulate in West Germany and the amount of fictional sob stories we heard daily was laughable. It was partly my job to work out the fact from fiction.So I guess I take a big pinch of salt with these new arrivals claiming that their lives are in danger. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2023 21:48:33 GMT 1
Human rights not really your bag then?
If I could point you in the direction of the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Be careful what you wish for owd lad. It might be asylum seekers this year, but no-one knows who their target will be next.
love the quote but I really doubt it will get anything like 30's Germany here. Let's face it there does seem to be a great deal of freeloaders that arrive on the small boats too . I used to work in the British consulate in West Germany and the amount of fictional sob stories we heard daily was laughable. It was partly my job to work out the fact from fiction.So I guess I take a big pinch of salt with these new arrivals claiming that their lives are in danger. Perhaps if the government over the last decade or so hadn't made huge cuts to funding and therefore staffing levels over all the departments that deal with immigration and asylum we wouldn't be looking at a 14+ month backlog of cases. All asylum applications should be concluded within a few weeks at worst. The failures should have their appeals heard within days and those failing that should be deported again within days, but because of the staffing levels failed applicants are disappearing into the ether. For what it's worth I personally don't believe that there are really thousands of Albanians that are truly at risk from persecution in their homeland and I would imagine that the vast majority are actually economic migrants just playing the persecution card to get around the system. Speed up and strengthen the system and we alleviate the problem, but that costs money, takes time and more importantly doesn't make headlines. |
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Post by staffordshrew on Aug 8, 2023 18:42:25 GMT 1
Please can we have an accommodation barge moored adjacent to the House of Commons? Taxpayers could save a fortune in expenses if our MPs slept on the barge when in Westminster.
Or they might decide bunk bed barges are not such a good idea after all.
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 9, 2023 8:20:00 GMT 1
Or they might decide bunk bed barges are not such a good idea after all. Surely if you're fleeing persecution, you'd be elated with any safe accomodation? The barge is safe, warm and provides a range of services and food, I don't see the issue? Is there a possibility a good percentage aren't fleeing persecution at all? |
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Post by staffordshrew on Aug 9, 2023 9:27:49 GMT 1
Or they might decide bunk bed barges are not such a good idea after all. Surely if you're fleeing persecution, you'd be elated with any safe accomodation? The barge is safe, warm and provides a range of services and food, I don't see the issue? Is there a possibility a good percentage aren't fleeing persecution at all No issue at all, provided those who propose it would be prepared to set an example and save the taxpayer money in a similar way. Even just as a gesture of a few days on a barge. |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 9, 2023 9:34:19 GMT 1
Surely if you're fleeing persecution, you'd be elated with any safe accomodation? The barge is safe, warm and provides a range of services and food, I don't see the issue? Is there a possibility a good percentage aren't fleeing persecution at all No issue at all, provided those who propose it would be prepared to set an example and save the taxpayer money in a similar way. Even just as a gesture of a few days on a barge. And what would be the point in that? What would you hope to achieve from that? Nothing, you're just being pedantic. |
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Post by staffordshrew on Aug 9, 2023 9:50:50 GMT 1
No issue at all, provided those who propose it would be prepared to set an example and save the taxpayer money in a similar way. Even just as a gesture of a few days on a barge. And what would be the point in that? What would you hope to achieve from that? Nothing, you're just being pedantic. I remmber IDS living on the dole money or some such for a week, it isn't "real life", but it would back up their assertions that it's perfectly good accommodation. |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 9, 2023 10:02:52 GMT 1
And what would be the point in that? What would you hope to achieve from that? Nothing, you're just being pedantic. I remmber IDS living on the dole money or some such for a week, it isn't "real life", but it would back up their assertions that it's perfectly good accommodation. So you want MPs away from their jobs to test out accomodation for those who are fleeing death? They're provided with a bed, washroom facilities, three meals a day, educational, mental and health support and most importantly they're safe. And it's all completely free. With respect, what the hell are you on about, or like I say, are you just being pedantic? |
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Post by staffordshrew on Aug 9, 2023 10:44:52 GMT 1
I remmber IDS living on the dole money or some such for a week, it isn't "real life", but it would back up their assertions that it's perfectly good accommodation. So you want MPs away from their jobs to test out accomodation for those who are fleeing death? They're provided with a bed, washroom facilities, three meals a day, educational, mental and health support and most importantly they're safe. And it's all completely free. With respect, what the hell are you on about, or like I say, are you just being pedantic? They are alreasy away from their jobs on summer recess, I suggest Baverman and the pro barge types ought to demonstrte the safety and comfort of a barge as a lovely holiday for them all, just a week would do. If I proposed sending people to a barge or a tent on a disused military base then it would be something I myself would be prepared to do.
End of the toing and froing of replies, let's agree to differ.
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 9, 2023 11:47:40 GMT 1
So you want MPs away from their jobs to test out accomodation for those who are fleeing death? They're provided with a bed, washroom facilities, three meals a day, educational, mental and health support and most importantly they're safe. And it's all completely free. With respect, what the hell are you on about, or like I say, are you just being pedantic? They are alreasy away from their jobs on summer recess, I suggest Baverman and the pro barge types ought to demonstrte the safety and comfort of a barge as a lovely holiday for them all, just a week would do. If I proposed sending people to a barge or a tent on a disused military base then it would be something I myself would be prepared to do.
End of the toing and froing of replies, let's agree to differ.
Why would any of them need to sleep on a barge for a week when they're UK nationals with houses, families and jobs? Rather important jobs at that. Again, you're just being facetious. |
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Post by mattmw on Aug 9, 2023 12:24:46 GMT 1
The barge issue is just a big distration from the total disaster the home office has made of processing asylum claims over the last 15 years. I'm sure its also a nice graft to award some lucrative contracts to their mates ahead of getting kicked out of office next year.
Back in 2002 the average time to process an asylum claim was 15 weeks, with 84,000 claims made that year. Now its taking upto 3 years to process a claim with 74,500 claims made last year.
Despite all the retrict and 8 different bills aimed at immigration control since 2010 successive Home Secretaries have overseen a total collapse of the system which has led to massive backlogs and the need to find and pay millions to accomodate people while claims are made.
As said earlier in the post the lack of investment in an addequet immigration system - which is properly staffed and resourced is the sole reason things are so bad no. Similar issues are reflected in lots of other areas of government too.
The stop the boats retric is just for the press to lap up, and unless this or any future government puts the investment back in a functioning immigration system the problems are going to get much much worse as displacement of people due to climate change really takes hold. The short term savings made in reducing staffing in the home office back in 2010 are really coming home to roost now and creating much bigger bills in dealing with the situation and isn't helping either the people claiming asylum, or the communities they are being dumped in with little or no support to back it up.
Total shambles all round and to be fair I doubt Labour will do any better if/when they take over as its basically the same model they seem determined to stick to
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 9, 2023 14:52:27 GMT 1
The barge issue is just a big distration from the total disaster the home office has made of processing asylum claims over the last 15 years. I'm sure its also a nice graft to award some lucrative contracts to their mates ahead of getting kicked out of office next year. Back in 2002 the average time to process an asylum claim was 15 weeks, with 84,000 claims made that year. Now its taking upto 3 years to process a claim with 74,500 claims made last year. Despite all the retrict and 8 different bills aimed at immigration control since 2010 successive Home Secretaries have overseen a total collapse of the system which has led to massive backlogs and the need to find and pay millions to accomodate people while claims are made. As said earlier in the post the lack of investment in an addequet immigration system - which is properly staffed and resourced is the sole reason things are so bad no. Similar issues are reflected in lots of other areas of government too. The stop the boats retric is just for the press to lap up, and unless this or any future government puts the investment back in a functioning immigration system the problems are going to get much much worse as displacement of people due to climate change really takes hold. The short term savings made in reducing staffing in the home office back in 2010 are really coming home to roost now and creating much bigger bills in dealing with the situation and isn't helping either the people claiming asylum, or the communities they are being dumped in with little or no support to back it up. Total shambles all round and to be fair I doubt Labour will do any better if/when they take over as its basically the same model they seem determined to stick to Have you not seen the B&A news? Labour are going to fix everything. |
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Post by wookeywombat on Aug 9, 2023 16:55:53 GMT 1
The barge issue is just a big distration from the total disaster the home office has made of processing asylum claims over the last 15 years. I'm sure its also a nice graft to award some lucrative contracts to their mates ahead of getting kicked out of office next year. Back in 2002 the average time to process an asylum claim was 15 weeks, with 84,000 claims made that year. Now its taking upto 3 years to process a claim with 74,500 claims made last year. Despite all the retrict and 8 different bills aimed at immigration control since 2010 successive Home Secretaries have overseen a total collapse of the system which has led to massive backlogs and the need to find and pay millions to accomodate people while claims are made. As said earlier in the post the lack of investment in an addequet immigration system - which is properly staffed and resourced is the sole reason things are so bad no. Similar issues are reflected in lots of other areas of government too. The stop the boats retric is just for the press to lap up, and unless this or any future government puts the investment back in a functioning immigration system the problems are going to get much much worse as displacement of people due to climate change really takes hold. The short term savings made in reducing staffing in the home office back in 2010 are really coming home to roost now and creating much bigger bills in dealing with the situation and isn't helping either the people claiming asylum, or the communities they are being dumped in with little or no support to back it up. Total shambles all round and to be fair I doubt Labour will do any better if/when they take over as its basically the same model they seem determined to stick to Have you not seen the B&A news? Labour are going to fix everything. They would be really hard pressed to do any worse even though I find it difficult to support many of their current policies. |
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Post by davycrockett on Aug 9, 2023 17:44:04 GMT 1
Or they might decide bunk bed barges are not such a good idea after all. Surely if you're fleeing persecution, you'd be elated with any safe accomodation? The barge is safe, warm and provides a range of services and food, I don't see the issue? Is there a possibility a good percentage aren't fleeing persecution at all? Possibly true but which ones, the Tories are unable to produce a working system to process them quickly so they just spend millions on putting them up then kick the can down the road. |
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Post by davycrockett on Aug 9, 2023 17:48:08 GMT 1
The barge issue is just a big distration from the total disaster the home office has made of processing asylum claims over the last 15 years. I'm sure its also a nice graft to award some lucrative contracts to their mates ahead of getting kicked out of office next year. Back in 2002 the average time to process an asylum claim was 15 weeks, with 84,000 claims made that year. Now its taking upto 3 years to process a claim with 74,500 claims made last year. Despite all the retrict and 8 different bills aimed at immigration control since 2010 successive Home Secretaries have overseen a total collapse of the system which has led to massive backlogs and the need to find and pay millions to accomodate people while claims are made. As said earlier in the post the lack of investment in an addequet immigration system - which is properly staffed and resourced is the sole reason things are so bad no. Similar issues are reflected in lots of other areas of government too. The stop the boats retric is just for the press to lap up, and unless this or any future government puts the investment back in a functioning immigration system the problems are going to get much much worse as displacement of people due to climate change really takes hold. The short term savings made in reducing staffing in the home office back in 2010 are really coming home to roost now and creating much bigger bills in dealing with the situation and isn't helping either the people claiming asylum, or the communities they are being dumped in with little or no support to back it up. Total shambles all round and to be fair I doubt Labour will do any better if/when they take over as its basically the same model they seem determined to stick to Have you not seen the B&A news? Labour are going to fix everything. You know what, they couldn’t do much worse, record immigration, record inflation, sharply rising interest rates and some just hide behind a cheap shot at Labour. Give us your thoughts on how the current lot are doing. Is the Rwanda plan working? Hotels all over the country, us that working….. |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 9, 2023 17:57:38 GMT 1
Have you not seen the B&A news? Labour are going to fix everything. You know what, they couldn’t do much worse, record immigration, record inflation, sharply rising interest rates and some just hide behind a cheap shot at Labour. Give us your thoughts on how the current lot are doing. Is the Rwanda plan working? Hotels all over the country, us that working….. None of it is working, but Labour aren't the miracle some on here claim they will be. My gripe with Labour and it always has been is their constant attacks on the so called middle class! Start from the top down, not the couple with two kids that have done "ok" for themselves. |
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Post by mattmw on Aug 9, 2023 18:55:37 GMT 1
The barge issue is just a big distration from the total disaster the home office has made of processing asylum claims over the last 15 years. I'm sure its also a nice graft to award some lucrative contracts to their mates ahead of getting kicked out of office next year. Back in 2002 the average time to process an asylum claim was 15 weeks, with 84,000 claims made that year. Now its taking upto 3 years to process a claim with 74,500 claims made last year. Despite all the retrict and 8 different bills aimed at immigration control since 2010 successive Home Secretaries have overseen a total collapse of the system which has led to massive backlogs and the need to find and pay millions to accomodate people while claims are made. As said earlier in the post the lack of investment in an addequet immigration system - which is properly staffed and resourced is the sole reason things are so bad no. Similar issues are reflected in lots of other areas of government too. The stop the boats retric is just for the press to lap up, and unless this or any future government puts the investment back in a functioning immigration system the problems are going to get much much worse as displacement of people due to climate change really takes hold. The short term savings made in reducing staffing in the home office back in 2010 are really coming home to roost now and creating much bigger bills in dealing with the situation and isn't helping either the people claiming asylum, or the communities they are being dumped in with little or no support to back it up. Total shambles all round and to be fair I doubt Labour will do any better if/when they take over as its basically the same model they seem determined to stick to Have you not seen the B&A news? Labour are going to fix everything. I think the only real way to turn round the country and economy around is a significant increase in infrastructure and public services - such as the immigration service, but that requires tax increases all round which no one is going to vote for and I can't see Labour going into the next election promising it or increasing borrowing to achieve it. So its pretty much 5 more years of decline and stagnation with a different set of faces at PMQ's each week. One way they maybe able to tackle the immigration/asylum issue differently to the Conservatives is by greater cooperation with Europe and rejoining the Dublin agreement. This is something that probably isn't available to the Conservatives in their current form as it involves more cooperation with the EU which much of the party won't counter. But rejoining the Dublin agreement would open up the ability to deliver processing of asylum seekers on mainland Europe, thus cutting out a lot of the boat operations at source. It would also make it easier to return unsuccessful applicants. None EU countries are part of the agreement and are able to return thousands of people back through Europe rather than the hundreds or so the Rwanda policies promise. Another option that they could explore would be repealing some of the decisions around pay grades of Asylum assessors. There are actually more assessors working on asylum cases now than there were 6 years ago, but thats been achieved by downgrading the skills, specification and skills of case officers. Those who work in the sector point out this has led to a much higher turn over in staff and the overall skills and knowledge being reduced - hence why cases are taking so much longer. Fewer officers but with better terms and conditions would help retain officers in the system who can be more productive. Personally think Yvette Cooper has a better grasp on immigration and asylum issues that the current Home Secretary, and less likely to play to the crowds in terms of decision making and ideally wouldn't pass anymore legislation on the issue as the 8 bills the conservatives have pushed through have just made the issue more confused. But I'm unconvinced that Labour have the MP's to suitable fill other Ministerial posts in the home office that are essential to improving things. Theres a danger you replace incompetent people Robert Jenrick and Chris Philp with equally incompetent Labour MP's who don't have experience in the area |
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Post by wookeywombat on Aug 9, 2023 22:55:43 GMT 1
You know what, they couldn’t do much worse, record immigration, record inflation, sharply rising interest rates and some just hide behind a cheap shot at Labour. Give us your thoughts on how the current lot are doing. Is the Rwanda plan working? Hotels all over the country, us that working….. None of it is working, but Labour aren't the miracle some on here claim they will be. My gripe with Labour and it always has been is their constant attacks on the so called middle class! Start from the top down, not the couple with two kids that have done "ok" for themselves. I would venture to suggest that those that you mention never had it so good under the pseudo Thatcher, Blair |
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Post by northwestman on Aug 10, 2023 9:12:51 GMT 1
A little known fact which should surely have been heavily publicised in the MSM:
The agreement between the UK and Rwanda does say that the countries will make arrangements “to resettle a portion of Rwanda’s most vulnerable refugees in the United Kingdom”
We do not yet know how many refugees the UK will resettle from Rwanda. In answer to a parliamentary question on 8 June 2022, Baroness Williams said “More details on the resettlement of vulnerable refugees will be set out in due course.”
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Post by northwestman on Aug 10, 2023 9:26:12 GMT 1
You know what, they couldn’t do much worse, record immigration, record inflation, sharply rising interest rates and some just hide behind a cheap shot at Labour. Give us your thoughts on how the current lot are doing. Is the Rwanda plan working? Hotels all over the country, us that working….. None of it is working, but Labour aren't the miracle some on here claim they will be. My gripe with Labour and it always has been is their constant attacks on the so called middle class! Start from the top down, not the couple with two kids that have done "ok" for themselves. Point taken. Look at Reeves response to the freezing of tax thresholds, for which she was rightly taken to task by Nandy. Apparently, she was comfortable with leaving things as they are, as it would hit the middle classes more. Madness! www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1747010/Rachel-Reeves-income-tax-threshold-bbc-today-labour |
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