Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General
- Government chose to dispense with some established processes to acquire the Northeye site for asylum accommodation at pace, leading to increased costs.
- Home Office lacked in-house expertise to quality assure decisions during purchase of the site.
- Northeye site was ultimately deemed unfit for its intended purpose due to contamination.
The Home Office’s quick acquisition of a new site for asylum accommodation, to meet government’s priority at the time to end the use of hotels for that purpose, led to it cutting corners and paying more than it needed to, according to a new National Audit Office (NAO) report.1,2
After first being alerted in May 2022 to its potential suitability, the Home Office entered negotiations with the vendors to acquire the Northeye site in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex.3,4 The Home Office moved quickly and chose to dispense with established processes, including the requirement for a full business case before approving the purchase.
A full assessment of the remediation required on the site did not take place either, despite significant risks being flagged. The cost of remediation was underestimated before contracts were exchanged, committing the Home Office to the purchase.
The Home Office also underestimated the time it would take between exchanging contracts and completing the purchase, leading it to pay the vendors an additional £0.9 million. As a result, it purchased a contaminated site for £15.4 million, with remediation costs estimated to be in the range of £1.1 million to £3.6 million.
During the purchase, the Home Office rejected offers of expert advice from other parts of government, relying instead on contracted staff but without putting in place sufficient oversight. There was limited reference to the potential scale of contamination or the need for further investigation in key decision-making documents, resulting in poor decisions.5
In response to lessons learnt from the purchase of the Northeye site, the Home Office has made improvements. A review by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in March 2024 found that the Home Office’s asylum accommodation programme now had firmer foundations, realistic ambition and more deliverable plans, upgrading its rating from ‘red’ to ‘amber’.6
