A Conservative MP has described plans by his own government to build an asylum centre in Linton-On-Ouse as an “abuse of power”.
Kevin Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton, called a debate in the House of Commons on the matter yesterday.
The government is pressing ahead with plans to house 1,500 asylum seekers for up to six months in a ‘reception centre’ a former RAF base in the village, which is four miles from Great Ouseburn and Little Ouseburn in the Harrogate district, nine miles from Boroughbridge and 13 miles from Knaresborough.
However, the plan has been widely criticised by residents and politicians.
During the debate yesterday, Mr Hollinrake said:
He said:
“I said right at the start that this is an abuse of power, and I do not think that is putting it too strongly. The Home Office is using its emergency powers, with a Q notice, so it did not have to go through the planning process for this material change of use, which it undoubtedly is.
“The reason for those powers—why is it an emergency?—was, we were told, covid. Well, we thought that covid was actually largely behind us, especially at this time of year.
“I do not think it is right to say that covid can be one of the reasons why we are using emergency powers in this way.”
Read more:
- Ripon refugee charity joins calls opposing 1,500 asylum seekers at Linton
- Village on fringes of Harrogate district to house asylum seekers
Mr Hollinrake went on to question what support and funding would be in place ahead of asylum seekers arriving at the centre.
Police car and CCTV to be deployed
He said he had been told a double manned police car would be located in the village 24/7 and CCTV would be installed.
However, Mr Hollinrake said it was unclear when those plans would be put in place.
He said:
“Those potential mitigations would help, but it is not clear that those plans will be in place on May 31 when service users move in. I have also not seen a clear plan anywhere.”
He added that there has been “an indication” by the Home Office that next week’s first set of arrivals, which includes 60 people, may be delayed.
Last week the chair of Ripon City of Sanctuary joined calls to pause plans for the centre.
Residents in Linton-On-Ouse ahead of a public meeting over the planned asylum centre. Picture: Linton-On-Ouse Action Group.
Nicola David, chair of the sanctuary, told the Stray Ferret the centre was not suitable for refugees or the village.
She said there would be too many asylum seekers to residents at the site.
She said:
“Everybody is in agreement. Everybody is saying it is completely unsuitable.
“The only people who are saying it is [a good idea] is the Home Office.”
Why are refugees being sent to Linton?
The controversial proposal for Linton-on-Ouse is part of a wider plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed.
Before potentially being flown out to the African country, asylum seekers will be held in ‘reception centres’ across the UK for up to six months, with the first announced being at Linton-on-Ouse.
Ms Patel said:
Access to NHS dentists in North Yorkshire has ‘got worse’, says MP“The global migration crisis and how we tackle illegal migration requires new world-leading solutions. There are an estimated 80 million people displaced in the world and the global approach to asylum and migration is broken.
“Existing approaches have failed and there is no single solution to tackle these problems. Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK illegally.”
Access to NHS dentists across North Yorkshire has got worse and is “unacceptable”, according to one of the county’s Conservative MPs.
Kevin Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton, told a debate in Parliament this week that there has been “simply no availability” for dentists during his seven years as a MP.
Mr Hollinrake said one of his first acts as an MP was to raise the issue with the then Minister for Dentistry, Alistair Burt, in 2015.
However, now he says the issue has got worse and that across North Yorkshire there is no availability on waiting lists.
He told a Westminster Hall debate on access to NHS dentistry on Thursday that since 2015 the issue has “actually got a lot worse”. He said:
“This morning I checked across North Yorkshire—which is larger than my constituency—and there is simply no availability on NHS waiting lists.
“It has been like that for most of the seven years I have been in Parliament. The pity is that I have dentists who will accept NHS patients, but they just cannot get the units of dental activity.
“There is a real impasse between the issues and our honesty in saying whether NHS dentistry treatment is available in our constituencies.”
Read more:
- Investigation: ‘Shocking’ waits for NHS dentists in Harrogate district
- Watchdog report: Just one NHS dentist per 10,000 people in Harrogate district
Mr Hollinrake added that he often receives emails from constituents complaining of toothache and having to pay for private treatment despite the fact that they cannot afford it.
He said:
“This is simply unacceptable”.
Acute problem of NHS dentists
Last year, the Stray Ferret revealed that just two Harrogate district NHS dentists were accepting patients but both had a waiting list of at least two-and-a-half years.
The investigation revealed how acute the problem of dental care is for people on low incomes in the district, with one councillor describing the situation as “shocking”.
Meanwhile, a review of NHS dentistry published in August 2021 found that found there was just one NHS dentist practice per 10,000 people in the district.
Fine people who flout covid travel rules, says North Yorkshire MPA North Yorkshire MP has called on police to fine people who flout covid travel rules.
Kevin Hollinrake said many people in tier three areas had travelled to lower tiers because of the “greater freedoms”.
North Yorkshire moved from tier two to tier three today amid rising infection rates.
It is believed people in higher tier areas, such as Leeds, frequently travelled to the Harrogate district’s pubs and restaurants, which were still open until today.
Mr Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, said this movement of people had increased the spread of the virus.
He told the House of Commons yesterday:
“We would definitely want to move travel restrictions from guidance to being an offence.
“That would prevent a lot of the travel we are seeing, with many people moving from different parts of the country into our area, which is increasing infection rates.
“When the police have used their powers in terms of mixing within hospitality venues or households, that has been very effective, and the word has gone round quickly.
“It would have a similar effect if we started to fine people for travelling without good cause.”
Mr Hollinrake reiterated his call for the government to consider applying different tier restrictions to different districts in North Yorkshire. He said:
“North Yorkshire is a huge place: our districts are the size of counties in other parts of the country.
“Putting a huge county such as North Yorkshire into one tier masks huge differences in the infection rate among districts.
“Some districts have an infection rate that is two or three times that in other districts, so it is possible that some of our districts should be in a higher tier and some in a lower tier. We should consider that.”
Mr Hollinrake also called for grants to businesses forced to close to be increased.
Tier review: Harrogate district set for tougher restrictions
The Harrogate district looks set to move to a higher tier, and possibly even tier four, following a flurry of developments this afternoon.
Sharon Stolz, director of public health at City of York Council, told ITV News it was “inevitable” the city would face tougher restrictions in the coming days.
Any changes affecting York would also apply to the Harrogate district unless the government changes its policy of maintaining the same tier level across North Yorkshire.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is due to announce the outcome of the latest tier review tomorrow afternoon.
North Yorkshire is in tier two but Ms Stolz said this was “no longer sufficient to contain the spread of the virus”.
She said although the city had not seen large outbreaks yet, the numbers were creeping up.
Her comments came on the day the R number for the Harrogate district rose above one for the first time in over a month.
Ms Stolz added:
“Without some additional restrictions coming in, my worry is that we will just see the virus spread and we will start to see large outbreaks.
“So I think it is inevitable there will be some announcement tomorrow of additional restrictions for York.”
Read more:
- My Year: Harrogate covid group founder’s hope for community in 2021
- Harrogate Nightingale remains ‘on standby’ amid new covid strain
Also today, Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton said he still wanted a “super local approach” that would allow some parts of the county to stay in tier two but added:
“Regrettably, I think we can reasonably expect York and North Yorkshire to enter a higher tier in the next few days, my best guess being the early hours of New Year’s Day.
“In terms of which tier, it appears that infection rates are not dropping significantly in those areas currently under tier three restrictions.
“My view then, and I speak as the parent of a child taking their A levels this year, I would prefer a shorter, sharper, shock with wider closure of the economy together with extended financial support for businesses and with schools providing a full timetable on an online-only basis until the end of January.
“At that point, with vaccinations starting to have meaningful effect we should be through the worst of this desperately damaging crisis.”
North Yorkshire MP: Don’t send county into tier two
A North Yorkshire MP has urged the government to “scotch rumours” that North Yorkshire is heading for tier two restrictions.
Kevin Hollinrake told the Stray Ferret it was only fair on businesses to impose tighter measures when there was an “absolute need”.
The MP, whose Thirsk and Malton constituency has relatively low infection rates, said district-wide rather than county-wide measures could be introduced if necessary to reflect the variable rates in North Yorkshire. He said:
“I have made the case for a more localised, evidenced-based approach regularly to the Prime Minister and Health Secretary, including twice last week on the floor of the House and will continue to do so.”
Public health officials earlier this week said there were “ongoing discussions” about moving the county and the wider Yorkshire region up a tier.
Dr Lincoln Sargaent, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, said there was a national desire to “simplify” the system.
But in a Commons debate last night, Mr Hollinrake asked Edward Argar, minister of state for health, to “scotch rumours” about North Yorkshire moving to tier two.
Read more:
He said:
“If there is any need to put us in a higher tier, will he look to do that on a district-wide level, where there is significant variation across North Yorkshire, rather than purely at county-wide level?”
Mr Argar said the position remained that same as last week when Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government was considering that option.
North Yorkshire is in tier one but is surrounded by tier two areas, including York and West Yorkshire.