The Home Office has set aside over £500 million to manage Channel migrants arriving on small boats for up to a decade, according to official documents.
Officials are looking for commercial partners to run two large facilities that will receive and process illegal migrants crossing the Channel from January 2026 until January 2032.
Political commentator Matt Goodwin commented on the plans on X, stating: “The British state knows it will not control borders and stop the boats which is why it’s looking for commercial partners to run facilities for illegal migrants from 2026 until … 2032.”
Companies are being offered up to £521 million for up to six years but with a break clause if the Labour Government succeeds in bringing down the number of illegal migrant crossings.
Political commentator Matt Goodwin spoke about the Government’s new plans
X/ @GoodwinMJ
But the contract also has an option to extend the time for up to four more 12-month periods if crossings are still continuing up to 2035, according to documents.
Officials have claimed the contract would reduce the number of companies providing different services to migrants, which would save taxpayers money.
The invitation for partners centres on the UK Border Force’s rescue and arrivals base in Dover docks, known as Western Jet Foil, a secure facility where channel-crossing migrants are brought ashore, registered and given emergency medical treatment.
The second part of the contract covers the much larger Manston centre in Kent, designed to accommodate up to 1,600 migrants while officials decide where to house them.
Nick Timothy, Conservative MP for West Suffolk, also commented on the update on X, saying; “The day ‘smash the gangs’ became ‘go into business with them’.
Neil O’ Brien, Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby & Wigston, also commented: “The fact that Labour have are signing contracts to process and manage people arriving on small boats for the next *decade* suggests they are not exactly confident about stopping the boats.”
It came as the Home Office reported 471 people arrived in nine boats on Saturday, following 142 in two boats on Friday.
This brings the total so far this year to 27,225, which is a five per cent increase from the 25,931 at the same time last year, but 25 per cent less than the 36,491 in 2022.
Sources also said the Home Office had reduced the costs by a quarter of the proposed £700 million six-year contract offered by the previous Government and also introduced a break clause.
Immediately upon becoming Prime Minister, Starmer scrapped Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation scheme and put money into helping set up a new Border Security Command, which will oversee plans to combat people-smuggling gangs.
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A Home Office spokesman said: “We are committed to smashing the criminal smuggling gangs responsible for overcrowding people onto boats for financial gain. We are procuring to reduce the number of providers that run the Manston site to cut costs and save the taxpayer money.
“However, in time, as we take down the people smuggling gangs through the work of the Border Security Command, we expect to see fewer people exploited into making these dangerous journeys.”
Currently, the contract is run by Mitie at the cost of £120 million per year, but this excludes additional services provided by other contractors.
The Home Office is now proposing the new single contractor will be responsible for all services.
