The aim of the services mentioned in the document is to establish a safe and secure environment for Border Force to register and process individuals arriving by boat. The government has announced a contract valued at over £500 million for the management of two illegal immigrant reception sites in Kent for a minimum of six years.
The contract involves managing services at the Home Office’s Disembarkation and SOLAS centre at Western Jet Foil in Dover, where immigrants are taken after being rescued in the English Channel. The provider will also manage the Manston Reception centre near Ramsgate, where the arrivals are processed.
The total estimated value of the contract is £521.3 million, split into two lots. The larger lot, worth £462.6 million, is for the operational management of Western Jet Foil and the Manston centre, while the other lot, valued at £58.7 million, is for the provision of health care services.
Operational management services include canteen provision, catering, transport, administration, security, building and facilities management, and cleaning. The services are expected to be required for up to 10 years at the sites, with the contract allowing for extensions up to an additional four 12-month periods.
The document also mentions “break clauses” that would be applied if the need for services is reduced over time, in line with UK Government policy. The previous Conservative government had allocated £700 million for similar services at Manston and Dover until at least 2030.
The contract publication follows the launch of the Border Security Command by the government to address illegal immigration and criminal people smuggling networks. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged £75 million to the Border Security Command for monitoring technology, intelligence sharing, and recruitment.
Despite efforts to combat illegal immigration, high numbers of immigrants continue to arrive in the UK, with recent crossings in the English Channel exceeding previous records. The Home Office remains committed to dismantling criminal smuggling gangs and reducing the need for services like those provided at the Manston site. Please provide a sentence or paragraph for me to rewrite.
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