"PA A former military base in Kent will continue to house asylum seekers despite previous concerns about poor living conditions. The Home Office was due to stop using Napier Barracks in Folkestone to accommodate migrants applying for asylum from September, but has since decided to extend its use until the end of the year. The former military site in Folkestone has been used to accommodate asylum seekers since 2020, despite being described by a judge as "squalid" in 2021."
"Napier Barracks started out as contingency accommodation for migrants seeking asylum at the start of the Covid pandemic. But in 2021, following a fire and outbreak of the virus at the site, a High Court judgement found the accommodation it provided was inadequate. Mr Justice Linden found that the barracks were overcrowded, run down with "filthy" facilities and contained "detention-like" settings for men."
Napier Barracks in Folkestone will remain in use to house asylum seekers until December despite earlier legal findings of poor conditions. The site has accommodated asylum seekers since 2020 after being repurposed as contingency accommodation during the Covid pandemic. A 2021 High Court judgment found the site inadequate following a fire and virus outbreak, with descriptions of overcrowding, filthy facilities and detention-like settings for men. The Home Office says it made significant improvements and has extended the planned closure from September to December while committing to reduce accommodation costs and end use of asylum hotels by the end of the Parliament. A planned overhaul includes a body of independent adjudicators to fast-track appeal decisions.
Read at www.bbc.com
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