Lincolnshire police awaits Scampton update and potential funding
Lincolnshire Police is still waiting on an additional £1.8 million from the Home Office to help police the planned asylum centre at the former RAF Scampton.
As contractors began developing the former airbase to house up to 2,000 asylum seekers last June, the force was promised additional funding to recruit extra officers. However, the number of asylum seekers was later reduced to 800 in March, though none have been brought in yet.
Over a year later, the promised funding has yet to materialise, according to Lincolnshire Police & Crime Commissioner Marc Jones (Conservative).
PCC Jones suggested that he was eager for an update from central government, noting that the additional funding “still hasn’t been honoured by the Home Office.”
During the Labour conference last October, party leader Sir Keir Starmer promised to scrap the controversial plans if his party won the General Election.
However, despite achieving a landslide victory on July 4, there has yet to be any official announcement from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on the future of the historic site, even though similar plans to house migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge have already been scrapped.
West Lindsey District Council recently urged Ms Cooper to provide an update on the plans, stating that “each passing day adds to the uncertainty.”
PCC Jones insisted that the Home Office needs to stop dragging its feet and that the burden of paying for these facilities should not fall on Lincolnshire taxpayers.
He stated: “It is extremely disappointing that the promised funds from the Home Office, totalling some £1.8m, have not materialised and we have already moved into a new financial year.
“That money was pledged to help Lincolnshire Police manage the additional workload and challenges presented by the plan to develop Scampton into an immigration centre. It is no fault of ours that the government failed to deliver its plan to open a centre at Scampton and our costs were incurred regardless.
“That money and future payments are vital to fund the policing operation around the facility. It is bad enough that we are the lowest funded force without being messed around further by Home Office delays to payments for money promised.
“I said it at the time, and I maintain, that the burden of paying for these facilities should not fall to Lincolnshire taxpayers. It is a national facility and should be paid for from the national purse.
“The Home Office needs to stop dragging its feet and honour its financial commitment.”
Although not in a formal statement, the Home Office maintained that the Home Secretary would decide on the future of the site in due course.