The Home Office overpaid for a former prison it wanted to house asylum seekers in and cut corners in the process, a report has revealed. The quick £15.4 million acquisition of the HMP Northeye site near Bexhill saw the Home Office buy a contaminated site without assessing the potential scale of asbestos issues.
A report by the National Audit Office found that the purchase, which saw the Home Office facing remediation costs of up to £3.6 million, did not meet minimum standards. The report from the NAO found the Home Office had looked to quickly buy the site to meet the Conservative government’s aim to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
The rusting exterior of the Northeye site (Image: Sussex News and Pictures) The Home Office entered negotiations shortly after May 2022 before moving quickly to buy the site for £15.4 million. The NAO said the Home Office “moved quickly and chose to dispense with established processes, including the requirement for a full business case before approving the purchase”.
The cost of remediation to repair the asbestos issues was also underestimated before the Home Office committed to the purchase. During the purchase the Home Office also rejected offers of expert advice from other parts of government. A key decision-making document also made limited reference to the potential scale of asbestos contamination on the site, leading to poor decisions.
The Home Office had initially intended to lease HMP Northeye but, in December 2022, .