Plans to expand and modernise the controversial Manston migrant processing centre have been signicantly cut back and delayed , The i Paper can reveal.
The Conservative government in 2023 said the centre in Kent would be redesigned by 2027 following reports of overcrowding, poor facilities and outbreaks of diphtheria and scabies.
The Manston Detention Centre is the UK’s main reception centre for people arriving on small boats before they are moved to accommodation, such as hotels, or detention centres.
In a bid to save money, Labour has dramatically reduced the revamp of the former military base meaning the completion of the redesign has been delayed by 16 months to 2029, with the budget slashed from £2.7bn to £990m.
With more than 50,000 migrants arriving across the Channel since Labour came to power, the revelations will raise questions about the government’s ability to tackle the small boats crisis.
Some expert fear the changes will increase pressure on other parts of the asylum system, with the Government left forced to set up even more processing centres in other locations.
“The Government wants to move away from housing asylum seekers in hotels, but it also knows that large sites hosting substantial numbers of migrants often become focal points for public protest and anti-immigrant political campaigning,” said Professor Nando Sigona, a migration expert at the University of Birmingham.
He added: “The Government may be considering smaller processing centres in different locations to dilute the local opposition.”
Another expert said that Labour’s bid to save money in the short term could end up costing taxpayers more in the long run.
“If the Government is serious about tackling the illegal flow of asylum seekers across the Channel, expanding detention capacity and adding to the facilities at Manston to allow speedier processing, is essential,” said Alp Mehmet, chair of Migration Watch. “Radically cutting back on the budget earmarked for the project is false economy “
Labour was accused of having no clear plan for tackling migration by Tory Shadow Minister Neil O’Brien, who said the budget was in “meltdown”.
Manston was opened in 2022 – by repurposing old buildings and adding temporary structures – in response to the growing number of people arriving via small boats.
But conditions deteriorated as the centre became overwhelmed with arrivals. Overcrowding led to people being placed in tents and the outbreak of disease.
People should only stay at Manston for 24 hours for security and identity checks but there have been reports of individuals being detained for 30 days due to lack of accommodation. An inquiry is investigating allegations of mistreatment of asylum seekers at Manston.
Under the previous Government, the Home Office said it planned a construction of “permanent, purpose-built” facilities with “wrap around” services, such as security, catering, medical and well-being care.
However, the plans appear to have been watered down after Labour cut down the bill for the Manston’s “Transformation Programme” from £2.7bn to £950m.
There are no public details of how Labour’s redesign differs from what the Tories planned. Government quango, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista), said the Manston programme was paused following the change in Government to “consider alternative value for money options”.
A person boards a bus at the migrant processing centre in Manston in Kent (Photo: Henry Nicholls/Reuters)The Home Office said it was “right” that plans to upgrade Manston’s infrastructure were refreshed after Labour came into power “to ensure maximum confidence around value for money and delivery”.
It also highlighed that Nista had upgraded its confidence assessment for the programme from “red to amber”. This means that the project is more likely to be delivered on time and without blowing its budget but will require close management.
But the Shadow Minister for Policy Renewal, Neil O’Brien, accused the Home Office budget of being in “meltdown”, adding that “they don’t have any clear plan except to wave through more people into the asylum system and then the welfare state”.
“Labour’s plans are in chaos, with numbers arriving on the boats hitting new records. It was a big mistake to abandon the [Rwanda] deterrent with nothing to replace it, and we are now seeing the consequences of that.”
The small boats problem
Despite Labour’s plans to reduce small boat crossings worked up with European partners – including a one-in, one-out return scheme signed with France – the numbers show no sign of abating.
In 2022, Manston had more than 4,000 refugees at the centre, despite a much lower stated capacity of 1,600.
It has been engulfed in a scandal following the death of a refugee from diphtheria in 2022. Weeks before the man died, local officials repeatedly raised concerns about health and safety at the processing centre.
An independent inquiry into Manston was commissioned by the Labour Government in February. The former Conservative Government had said a statutory inquiry would take place, which could have compelled witnesses to testify. This was later dropped due to cost concerns.
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