QUESTIONS have been submitted for the virtual community engagement meeting on Penally Camp tomorrow (Wednesday October 7).

The noon meeting, which will be live streamed, has been arranged to address residents' questions and concerns about the arrival of asylum seekers at the former Ministry of Defence camp.

Pembrokeshire County Council is organising the event, to which the Home Office and other agencies have been invited to attend.

Council leader David Simpson is urging key partner representatives to participate and address any issues raised.

He said: “The lack of initial communication from the Home Office has meant we have had no way of being able to allay the fears and answer the questions raised by residents.

This is a perfect opportunity for all of the agencies involved to come together to describe the support they are giving and the actions they are taking to address concerns in an appropriate setting.

"It will also allow speculation around the arrangement to be addressed - some of which has been very unhelpful and potentially damaging to our community."

Themes raised will be discussed by the panel, as opposed to each question being asked individually.

The cut-off time for submitting questions has now elapsed.

Penally's county councillor, Jon Preston, has submitted the following questions:

Given that it is a role to promote the best interests of Wales why did the Home Office exclude the secretary of state from contributing to the planning stages of the change of use at Penally training camp?

What contingency powers has the Home Secretary used to by-pass all national and local government policies and procedures to commandeer Penally training camp to accommodate asylum seekers ?

Does the Home Office intend to submit a retrospective planning application for the change of use at Penally training camp?

How will the Home Office proceed if a change of use planning application is brought before the local authority planning committee and is subsequently refused?

When will the report from the Home Office scoping exercise to ’assess community impact’ be made public?

How will the Home Office support the additional costs incurred by Pembrokeshire taxpayers to support public services, the Police operation and the healthcare provisions associated with the asylum facility?

What process has been employed to ensure the safeguarding of vulnerable adults who have been given (a reported) 24 hours’ notice removed from established support networks in the UK and placed into a militarised setting hundreds of miles from their familiar surroundings and with little or no explanation?

• Will the Home Office give assurance to the people of Penally and Pembrokeshire that the camp will be returned to the MoD within the stipulated 12 month period?

Members of the public will be able to watch the meeting by visiting: https://pembrokeshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/515866