Independent inspections of the now notorious Napier Barracks in Kent have once again highlighted the atrocious conditions asylum seekers have been subjected to while exposing “fundamental failures of leadership and planning” from the Home Office.
Following resident protests over living conditions in this asylum seekers detention centre in January, both HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and the independent chief inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) visited Napier Barracks in Folkestone last week after a visit only a month ago.
Their initial findings, published on 8 March 2021, condemned serious failings in Covid protection, fire safety and living conditions at the Home Office accommodation.
Of particular concern was the ability, or lack thereof, to stop the spread of coronavirus amongst residents, with communal sleeping arrangements of up to 28 people in one block.
When questioned by the Home Affairs Select Committee in February, Permanent Secretary at the Home Office Matthew Rycroft confirmed:
“in total in January there were 178 positive tests, and 19 in February, leading to a total of 197 between the start of January and now.”
This means that almost half of the residents at Napier Barracks contracted Covid in the months of January and February. The independent inspectors denounced the cramped conditions, saying that: “once one person was infected [with Covid] a large-scale outbreak was virtually inevitable”.
In the same committee meeting, the Home Secretary said:
“It is a fact, when we look at what happened at Napier barracks three weeks ago—people were also not following the rules. We also have to bear in mind that covid, being as contagious as it is, spreads”
This drew a scathing response from Yvette Cooper, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, who said:
“Home Secretary, that is still a bit of an astonishing response, though. Effectively you are saying you are blaming those people for not following the rules when they were put in accommodation where they had to sleep over 28 people to a room.”
According to the inspectors findings, contractors had been given less than two weeks to make both the Napier Barracks and Penally Camp in Pembrokeshire operational.
The Home Secretary insists that all accommodation complies with Public Health England guidance. However, the inspectors found that Public Health England had advised against the use of multi-occupancy dormitory-style accommodation.
On the 26 November, the Home Secretary also received a letter from the Faculty of Public Health, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and others, warning that keeping asylum seekers in dormitory accommodation and at Napier barracks was not safe in covid terms.
SNP Spokesperson on Home Affairs and member of the Home Affairs select committee Stuart McDonald MP decried the government’s decision to withhold the equality impact assessment on the use of the barracks.
No respondents to a survey circulated by the inspectors to residents of the barracks felt they had been kept safe from Covid, while around a third of respondents said they not only suffered with mental health problems but also felt suicidal.
The Chair of the Home Affairs Committee responded to the initial findings by saying:
“This shocking report from the ICIBI shows just how unsuitable, unsafe and inappropriate this accommodation was for long-term accommodation in a pandemic…The Home Office told the home affairs committee that they were following public health advice at every stage of the process yet the ICIBI says that both sites were opened before public health recommendations had been actioned. How could the Home Office have allowed this to happen?”
Ms. Cooper also called on the Home Office to: “immediately publish all the public health advice they received before deciding to use the barracks and explain why they told the select committee they were operating in line with the guidance when this report is clear that they weren’t.”
A Home Office Spokesperson said:
“During these unprecedented times we have met our statutory duty to provide asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, with suitable accommodation and three meals a day all paid for by the British taxpayer…We expect the highest possible standards from our service providers and have instructed them to make improvements at the site.”
Following these initial findings, the inspectors will now produce a detailed report that will be submitted directly to the Home Secretary.
Photo Credit: ICIBI