Irregular Migration Channel Crossings 2023-09-18
2023-09-18
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The number of small boats transporting irregular migrants across the Channel has significantly increased, causing concern among MPs and constituents.
What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of small boats transporting irregular migrants across the English channel?
We remain determined to stop the boats and deter people from making these dangerous journeys to the UK, and we are making progress. The number of arrivals is 20% down, the legacy backlog has nearly halved, and the number of Albanian arrivals has fallen by 90% this year.
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Assessment & feedback
The answer does not address specific steps or commitments to reducing small boat crossings beyond general progress reports.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
A hotel in the questioner's constituency is accommodating illegal migrants, raising concerns about cost and access to services for local residents.
What can my right hon. and learned Friend tell them about how soon the use of hotels for illegal migrants will end?
It is totally unacceptable that too many towns and cities around the country now house the 45,000 asylum seekers who are in hotels, costing the British taxpayer £6 million a day. We are standing up large sites and vessels around the country and maximising the use of hotels to open fewer.
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Assessment & feedback
The answer does not provide a specific timeline or steps for ending the practice of housing illegal migrants in hotels, instead focusing on cost and comparison with Labour's policies.
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The number of people arriving on small boats is now 150 times higher than five years ago, and convictions of people smugglers have dropped by 30%.
Would taxpayers' money be better spent recruiting hundreds more police and investigators to defeat the criminal gang networks and prevent the dangerous boat crossings?
We need a robust and honest approach to dealing with this problem. Opening our doors to thousands of migrants from the EU is not the solution. We need a deterrent, which is why our agreement with Rwanda will work based on what has worked in other countries such as Australia.
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Assessment & feedback
The answer does not address whether taxpayer money would be better spent recruiting police and investigators; instead it defends the Rwanda plan.
Response accuracy