Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:45 pm on 16th December 2020.
It is not a hostile environment. The accommodation meets the required standards. As I explained in my answer to my hon. Friend Felicity Buchan, we are having to provide additional units because the number of people being supported has gone up enormously as a result of coronavirus. Far fewer cessation notices have been served this year than would ordinarily be the case, because we are mindful of the welfare of the people concerned and the wider population. We do intend to scale up the cessations as quickly as we safely can. As we do that, the pressure on numbers will reduce correspondingly.