Plans to give asylum seekers access to taxpayer-funded therapy to maintain their mental health have been condemned as a “slap in the face” to local people waiting months for NHS help.
The Home Office is hoping to use Cameron Barracks in Inverness to house up to 300 male asylum seekers who have entered the UK illegally, as part of government plans to move them out of hotels.
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But it has now emerged that asylum seekers will be able to seek mental health counselling as part of a healthcare package provided by the Home Office.
The revelation has inflamed tensions in the area where residents diagnosed as needing NHS therapy have to wait about five months before starting regular sessions because of high demand.
Thomas Kerr, a spokesman for Reform UK, said: “The Cameron Barracks is simply the wrong location for a facility like this. Local people are rightly angry and demanding their voices be heard.
“To now learn that taxpayers will also be paying for mental health support for people who have come to this country illegally is a massive slap in the face.”
Thomas Kerr
PETER SUMMERS FOR THE TIMES
The plan to use Cameron Barracks, and a similar base in East Sussex, was announced in October, immediately prompting concern the new arrivals will put pressure on the city’s already stretched public services.
Highland councillors have been told that by having trained therapists on site at the barracks, it would mean the male asylum seekers would be able to bypass the city’s local health services.
The private cost for one hour of therapy ranges from £40 to £100. It is unknown whether the Home Office will hire therapists privately or redeploy those working for the NHS in the region.
The Home Office has a statutory duty to provide healthcare, including treatment for mental health conditions, to asylum seekers.
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A briefing note sent to councillors ahead of the migrants’ arrival says: “Primary healthcare will be available on site, including mental health support. Funding for these services will be provided by the Home Office to minimise impact on local GP surgeries and NHS resources.”
Isabelle MacKenzie, a Scottish Conservative councillor who represents the ward where the barracks is located, accused the Home Office of giving “preferential treatment” to the asylum seekers set to stay at the site.
Isabelle MacKenzie
PETER JOLLY/NORTHPIX
“It’s almost like they’re getting a bespoke service,” she said. “They’re getting a roof over their head. They’re getting fed and watered. They’re getting their basic necessities. They can come and go as they please and any of their medical needs are being catered for.”
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Edward Mountain, a Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands region, said it was “galling when many of those living in Inverness and the Highlands are finding it increasingly hard to access mental health services and other frontline public services in their community”.
The Home Office confirmed last week it had not yet made a “final decision” on whether it would use the barracks. Asylum seekers had originally been expected to arrive in the city last month, but this was delayed due to work required to make the facility fit for purpose.
The Ministry of Defence has offered the barracks — formerly the base of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders — to the Home Office for a period of 12 months. After that, the barracks will return to the MoD as part of its training estate. The site has recently been used as transitional accommodation for the Afghan Resettlement Programme.