Priti raises Wethersfield concerns in Parliament
During a general debate on migration in the House of Common (15.06.23), the Witham MP Priti Patel has raised concerns about the Government’s plans to use Wethersfield to accommodate asylum seekers. The site is currently the subject of a legal challenge, although the Home Office are continuing to prepare the site for it to be used.
After speaking about the establishment of safe routes for asylum seekers and refugees and the establishment of a post-Brexit points-based immigration system, Priti queried the funding being provided to local authorities, the police and the NHS, as well as service provision and the dispersal of asylum seekers from the site.
Priti said: “Local communities in this part of Essex have raised serious concerns about the suitability of the Wethersfield site and its location to accommodate 1,700 asylum seekers. With the Home Office looking to open the site as soon as they can, there continue to be many questions that have yet to be answered about how it will operate, the services that will be provided and the support for the local community and councils in this part of Essex. I will continue to raise these issues with the Government and support the work of Braintree District Council, Essex County Council, the police and the local NHS.”
For the full Hansard text of Priti’s speech go to:
Priti’s full speech can be accessed via: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-06-15/debates/1CEEC72E-A1DF-4F9F-A82D-AA4868C0520D/Migration#contribution-D852DDB3-C617-4E3E-9166-862DA86AC04F