Like very many of my constituents from Dunstable and the surrounding areas, I am absolutely gutted that the Old Palace Lodge is no longer operating as a hotel and a fantastic venue for family and business events. I have been very fortunate to be a customer there over the years. I have been to business breakfasts, spoken at lunches and attended many events. For my daughter’s wedding reception last summer, it was the top hotel on our list to recommend for family and friends. I know just how many people use it for weddings, big family celebrations, and many other important life events.
Bedfordshire is already doing more to accommodate asylum seekers than other parts of the East of England. 24% of asylum seekers in the east of England have been placed in Bedfordshire, so it was wrong of the Home Office to offer another contract to a hotel in the county.
Government policy is now to make use of disused holiday parks, former student halls, and surplus military land to house asylum seekers rather than hotels. I hope the break clause in the contract can be exercised as quickly as possible to get the hotel back to its previous use.
When the Home Office told me that they were looking at the Old Palace Lodge, I responded the same day, saying that I objected very strongly and I suggested another venue that could be used. I have spoken to the Immigration Minister today and told him that it is very urgent that the people of the town get their hotel back, to use it in the way it always has been. When we do get it back, those that are able to, need to support it because life has been very tough for hotels due to the pandemic and the energy crisis. The Old Palace Lodge will only survive if it is well used.
The Government is working at pace to bring in new law, which will mean that if you enter the UK illegally, you are not able to remain here. We now have weekly return flights to Albania, which is a safe country. We have doubled the number of caseworkers, will not be giving amnesties, as in the past, and have employed 200 more immigration enforcement staff.
We are facing a national emergency in dealing with the global migration and refugee crisis. The UK is not alone. France had 100,000 asylum applications last year, many more than the 40,000 who crossed the Channel in the small boats to the UK. The only way we will deal with this national emergency is to stop the small boats from crossing the Channel, which is dangerous and not fair to others who come here legally. We need to plan properly to look after the refugees so that we are able to accommodate them appropriately and look after them well and we cannot do this with the current situation in the Channel.