Putting migrants into community accommodation ‘part of finding the solution’, says minister

Border Security and Asylum Minister Alex Norris has defended moving 350 migrants into accommodation in the former Crowborough Training Camp.

Speaking on GB News, he said: “I’ve spoken to the representatives of the Crowborough community and had some very challenging conversations with them about that to make sure that our facilities have the lightest possible impact on their lives.

“We’ve put more investment into security, into policing, into health services, so that local services are less affected.

“That type of accommodation [HMOs], what we call dispersed accommodation, has always been used for, in this case, asylum accommodation.

“Lots and lots, huge amounts can change communities, of course, exactly the way you’d say that is wrong.

“But that is part of finding the solution.

“And what we would say is dispersing, [and] the challenge of supporting a population of people who would otherwise be destitute, but doing it in a way that’s balanced, that is more equitable around the country, I think that that strikes the right balance.”