Priti Patel pushed through Rwanda asylum plan despite concern from her most senior civil servant
The Home Secretary has issued a “ministerial direction” in relation to the Rwanda asylum plan, overruling concerns from her own civil servants, Sky News understands.
Ministerial directions are used when the top civil servant in a department has objected to the costs or feasibility of a spending plan.
A Home Office source said: “Home Office officials are clear that deterring illegal entry would create significant savings. However, such a deterrent effect cannot be quantified with certainty.
“It would be wrong to let a lack of precise modelling delay a policy aimed at reducing illegal migration, saving lives, and breaking the business model of the smuggling gangs.”
The UK government is attempting to crack down on Channel crossings by small boats and as part of the plans, the Home Office has signed a deal with Rwanda to send migrants to the landlocked African country.
The Home Office said on Thursday that the first people to be sent to Rwanda will be formally notified in the coming weeks, with the first flights taking place in the next few months.
The partnership could reportedly cost £120m initially and Priti Patel said during a news conference in Kigali on Thursday that the UK is making a “substantial investment” toward the development of Rwanda.
What are ministerial directions?
Ministerial directions have been used just 46 times since 2011, with many issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They have the effect of instructing civil servants to implement a policy despite an objection from the top non-political staff member of a department.
Read more:
Boris Johnson’s asylum plans borne of political necessity and a degree of desperation
UK could send first migrants to Rwanda within ‘weeks’
How the UK’s ‘world first’ migration deal has gone down in Rwanda itself
This means the minister becomes accountable for the spending, rather than the civil service.
Directions were issued over the Eat Out To Help Out scheme and the COVID-19 bounce back loan programme.
