Home Office Minister Mike Tapp has said that the government is “nowhere near” its goal of reducing the number of asylum seekers housed in publicly funded accommodation.
His comments came as it was revealed that 136,000 people are being housed by the government, which is up by 7,000 year-on-year according to the latest data.
Asked if that aspect of the government’s policy has been a failure, he told GB News: “No. Look, on illegal migration this year, the numbers are down, but we are nowhere near the success that we want to see, and we’re moving people out of hotels, 12,000 have come out of hotels in the last year, and also we’re looking to move people into larger sites.
“You’ve seen us begin doing that with military-style sites, so there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes. That’s why I was cautious at the beginning of the interview to say that this is finished, we’re done. Actually, there’s still a lot of work to do, but we’re heading in the right direction.
“The thrust of our efforts is to get these people into larger sites, such as military sites, but also we’re deporting and removing people that shouldn’t be here.
“There’s a 13% increase in foreign national offenders being removed, and we’re doing a lot of work around the ECHR to ensure that we can get rid of more, because, like I said before, as a minister, if you can’t deport a foreign paedophile, something’s not right, and we’re working hard towards getting this right.
“There are many communities that the hotels are in, that’s come down from 400 to 200 and having the larger sites means we have less of that dispersion.
“But I have to make the point that people who are here seeking a better life aren’t all bad people. The majority are thouroughly decent people looking for a better life…”
Asked if he would live next door to an HMO full of illegal asylum seekers, he said: “I’ve lived in many places across the country, and yes, I absolutely would live next door to these people.
“As I said, the vast majority are decent, but that’s not to say that there aren’t people who are flouting our laws, and when they are, they will not get the asylum support and they’re being deported.”
