For obvious reasons, I think immigrants play a really positive role in our country. However, it’s important that we have control over our borders, and that when people come to the UK, they play by the rules.
I know that many of you continue to be worried about small boat crossings, and the pressure this is putting on public services across the country.
Since the Prime Minister made this one of his five priorities at the start of the year, we have been making good progress. Crossings are down by over 20% since this time last year, and we've slashed the legacy backlog by almost 40% since December by doubling the number of asylum decision-makers.
This means that we can start to wind down the housing of asylum seekers in hotels - relieving pressure on local services and saving the taxpayer money. I am pleased to share that this starts with two hotels locally, in Horley and Reigate. Both hotels will stop being used by the end of December.
