Question
It is weeks since I wrote to the immigration Minister, but I have not had a response—out of generosity of spirit, I will say that the Government have been busy—so I will take this opportunity to invite the Home Secretary to come to the proposed site in Linton-on-Ouse. It is an integrated village. If the Home Secretary were to come and see it for herself, I think she would be quite shocked. I do so in the full, open spirit of working co-operatively—I do not even mind if I cannot be there on the day. I really want the Home Secretary to come to site with the Linton-on-Ouse action group and to see for herself just how inappropriate it is.
Answer
I hear the passionate point that the right hon. Member makes as a constituency Member of Parliament. He will know that no decision has yet been made, and I will ensure that his letter is responded to promptly. He will also know that the Government have saved a billion pounds a year by closing asylum hotels and that we will go further to close all asylum hotels in this Parliament. As we do so, it is important that we move to a new model of providing asylum accommodation that includes more use of military sites. However, as I said in relation to the specific site he mentioned, no decision has yet been made.
Verdict: RED (22/100) DEFERRED
The question asked whether the Home Secretary would accept the invitation to visit the site. The reply does not answer that. It defers the decision, saying the Member's letter will be responded to promptly and that no decision has yet been made about the site. A member of the public would not get a commitment on the visit from this reply and would probably need to ask again.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Home Secretary accept the invitation to visit the proposed site at Linton-on-Ouse with the Linton-on-Ouse action group? | Deferred | Hedged | The reply never says whether the Home Secretary will accept the visit invitation. It defers the answer by promising that the Member's letter will be responded to promptly, while noting that no decision has been made on the site. The site is engaged with, but no concrete commitment about the visit is given. |