Asylum centres may very well be fast-tracked with out native approval beneath a controversial new planning energy for critically pressing Government developments.
While the streamlined process “may not be a suitable route” for the migrant housing disaster, Tory frontbencher Earl Howe didn’t rule out its future use to create lodging.
The provision, proposed in draft laws, would place the choice for growing Crown land, the place the scheme was of nationwide significance and wanted instantly, within the arms of the Secretary of State fairly than the native planning authority.
It permits Government to completely bypass native councils on asylum lodging. This is totally the flawed strategy
Baroness Hayman
Critics argue the measure, contained within the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill, is designed to drive by way of centres to deal with asylum seekers.
It follows controversy concerning the deliberate use of barges and disused army bases to deal with the big variety of migrants crossing to the UK in small boats.
Last 12 months, the Home Office was pressured to desert a plan to deal with as much as 1,500 asylum seekers at a disused RAF base at Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, within the face of native opposition and a authorized problem.
Speaking within the House of Lords as friends continued their detailed scrutiny of the Bill, Labour frontbencher Baroness Hayman of Ullock stated: “The Government has consistently sought to avoid public scrutiny and consultation about the construction or operation of large-scale institutional facilities for asylum accommodation.
“Our concern is that the powers provided for in this clause is to facilitate the driving through of centres regardless of their impact on the people placed in them or on the local communities in which they are situated.
“It allows Government to totally bypass local councils on asylum accommodation. This is completely the wrong approach.”
The Secretary of State is greatest positioned to take a nationwide, balanced and neutral view of the necessity for improvement
Earl Howe
Responding for the Government, Lords deputy chief Lord Howe stated: “The objective of these reforms is to ensure planning decisions can be made in a timely and proportionate way on development that is of national importance and is promoted by the Crown.
“A special urgency procedure for urgent and nationally important Crown development has existed in legislation for many years.
“The purpose of the clause is to update this route so it can be used more effectively to deal with urgent national crises and supplement it with a new route for making a planning decision for non-urgent planned Crown development which is of national importance.
“The Government believes that where a Crown development is of genuine national significance, the Secretary of State, who is democratically accountable to Parliament, should be able to make a planning decision rather than an individual local planning authority answerable to its local community.
“The Secretary of State is best placed to take a national, balanced and impartial view of the need for development.
“The urgent route that we are introducing would be used sparingly where it can be demonstrated… that development is needed urgently and is nationally important. Those are high bars.
“The route could, for example, be used for development needed on Crown land to develop medical centres in the event of a pandemic. Such development will need to be operational in a matter of weeks so decisions can be made very quickly.
“Other examples could include accommodation needed urgently in the event of a future influx of refugees or military training facilities.
“Crown bodies making an application will need to justify that using this route is appropriate.
“This doesn’t concern any situation that we may currently be facing on illegal migrants.”
Lord Howe identified each laws and steering would have to be launched earlier than the measure might come into drive.
He stated: “That will take time. To this end it may not be a suitable route for the immediate issue of housing of migrants to address the current immigration backlogs.
“In the case of asylum accommodation on MoD (Ministry of Defence) bases, it will be for the Home Secretary to decide whether to bring forward an application when the powers are in place.
“We recognise the procedure for this urgent route is not the same as the more commonly known statutory procedures for determining planning applications. It is therefore a route that will be used sparingly.”
