Speeches by Norris.

“We talk to local authorities all the time—it is a matter of record—about this type of issue and indeed exactly on these provisions. We are working on that framework to come through and we will be having those conversations with them as we do so. We do not want to cause an increase in homelessness, but we do need a cont…”

“Andrew, you might help me there.”

“It is a former military base that has all the services contained on it. That meets our definition of the large site. That is what we call a large site.”

“We would expect people to find their place in the employment market. That is what my constituents do, as yours do too. Our goal here is not significant removal. The people of greater interest are those who are working when they should not be working, because that has to change.”

“No, no, that is not what we mean here. If you are talking about people who have the right to work because they have not had their case assessed within 12 months, that would not be how this worked. There is a small cohort of people who enter our supported accommodation with the right to work because they have overstayed…”

“That is not a figure I could make readily available. That will be in the Home Office accounts in its usual way. The best I can say for the Committee is that I would expect that the planning assumption is that the cost will be in line with what Wethersfield is per night.”

“We have made changes through two SIs in recent months, around changing from our retained European duty to provide accommodation to a power, which was our legislative position at the end of the last century. That is not with the intention to make lots of people leave their accommodation. It is a recognition that sometim…”

“Yes, I can.”

“I know that that is what the local community has said to me, yes.”

“There is no normal hotel. They range from 100 to 400. You would not have any bigger than 400.”

“Yes, and I accept that. I do think the work of the independent inspector is important, not least for our accountability, but also for public confidence. We have a challenge with two reports because of the data. Colleagues will know we are doing a big piece of work across the Department on data. The information that goe…”

“It is across all contracts, yes.”

“It is a choice. The alternative is, okay, we could not provide those types of health services. First, I defend providing that in the way that you said for people who are vulnerable. That is important. Also, the commitment we have made and our belief is that these types of sites should tread as lightly as possible on th…”

“No, no, but it is exceptionally important. All European countries are looking at this in some way. You will have seen what the Italians have been up to. We have those conversations, but that would be announced in the usual way.”

“You will have seen what the Prime Minister has previously said. Yes. I do not have an update for the Committee. It will not surprise the Committee to hear that I talk to European partners.”

“I have to say I cannot speak to why that wording changed. I do not know if colleagues want to help me with that at all, but that was not designed to create a meaning different to what was put out there. As I say, Ministers will drive this from the centre and announce it in that way.”

“The locations themselves were good. Particularly, as you have seen with Crowborough, both of them have been used in recent memory for Afghan resettlement, and so I would say a similar purpose. Secondly, Crowborough is a training camp that you could walk into. The buildings were there. The bedroom-type accommodation cou…”

“It is reliant on the data I have just posited. We all have access to that data, we will all make our own judgments, and that is ours. That is the basis of our theory for change.”

“The intellectual basis for that is that we have a fundamental question as a Government to answer—and as a Parliament, I might venture to say. We know the global patterns. We know the challenges around climate and conflict, but we assume there is a degree of constancy across certainly ourselves and our European neighbou…”

“This slightly speaks to the point I was trying to make earlier. I know there is so much interest in this that any change of any word or dot and comma is read into, and that is perfectly reasonable. I would say for the Committee as I have said in the Chamber before that the basis on which it is been given to us is the b…”