Pembrokeshire County Council's £54,000 Penally Camp costs are 'double claiming', says Simon Hart

Last month, Penally's county councillor, Jonathan Preston, wrote to south Pembrokeshire MP Mr Hart, expressing his disquiet that out of a £93,848 invoice, only £39,700 had been paid by the Home Office.

Pembrokeshire County Council's leader, Cllr David Simpson, also added his voice, complaining to the Home Office: “I am disheartened that the way in which you repay the hard work and dedication of council staff and Pembrokeshire residents and taxpayers in supporting the asylum seekers is to make them pay for it as well.”

But Mr Hart is challenging the figures produced by Cllr Preston, saying they are estimates of time spent by officers who are already being paid, and could therefore be taken as 'double claiming for the same item'.

He added:"I remain surprised that the council considered this a legitimate course of action.'

The full text of Mr Hart's letter to Cllr Preston, with a copy to the council's chief executive, Will Bramble, states:

"As you are aware, the Home Office looked at the claim made by the council and provided £39,700 towards them. However the costs that you have itemised in your letter are not additional expenses that have been incurred, rather they are estimates of time spent by officers who are already on the council payroll and whose salaries are already budgeted and covered by the money the council receives from Welsh Government (and in turn by UKG).

"In anybody’s estimation, this would be double claiming for the same item, and the Home Office would be breaching its fiscal responsibilities to agree to them.

"I remain surprised that the council considered this a legitimate course of action.

"If you are suggesting that officers deployed in relation to Penally were unable to attend to other duties, then that fails to meet the necessary threshold either.

"Throughout the public sector, officers are always having to prioritise their work and there has never been a situation anywhere in the UK where working on one project triggers a claim for other projects, that they may also have wanted to attend to but were unable to do so.

"More generally, it is worth repeating that the Government meets the costs of accommodating destitute asylum seekers through its Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts and for those in dispersal accommodation, they are paid asylum support to meet their essential living costs.

"In the case of Penally, the costs of accommodation, food and the basic needs of asylum seekers were met on site.

"The Home Office works closely with a large number of local authorities across the UK covering areas where asylum seekers are housed, and its accommodation providers pay council tax or business rates where appropriate, contributing towards the provision of local services.

"Given the public position of Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru in relation to Wales being a 'nation

of sanctuary', it was noticeable how little attempt was made to honour this pledge when it came to an actual and urgent situation on our own doorsteps.

"Whilst the Home Office has no obligation to provide additional funding to meet any residual costs incurred by local authorities in connection with the presence of supported asylum seekers in their areas, Sean Palmer, Director of Resettlement, Asylum Support & Integration, wrote to Jonathan Haswell, Director of Resources in Pembrokeshire Council, on 19 April, confirming that having reviewed their submission of costs, the Home Office was able to offer them £39,700 as a contribution towards some of the direct costs that they identified and to cover the period that the Home Office was using Penally.

This included costs relating to:

• Community safety;

• Street care;

• Communications;

• Public protection;

• Social work; and

• Works to erect barriers etc.

In addition, a separate exceptional grant was given to the police

As these matters relate to the administration of the council budget, I have copied this letter to the Chief Executive."