Minister says government committed to removing asylum seekers from hotels after report condemns ‘failed and chaotic’ system – UK politics live
Housing secretary says purpose built ‘modular’ structures on sites like ex military bases is the answer to ending reliance on hotelsGood morning. When Jimmy Carter was US president, he gave...
By Andrew Sparrow · The Guardian World
Housing secretary says purpose built ‘modular’ structures on sites like ex military bases is the answer to ending reliance on hotels Good morning. When Jimmy Carter was US president, he gave a famous address in 1979 saying the country was suffering a crisis of confidence. It became known as the malaise speech, and now it is widely regarded as a mistake, because it was unduly pessimistic and because, in the presidential election the following year, voters turned to the much more upbeat Ronald Reagaan. Yesterday Wes Streeting, the health secretary, had his own Jimmy Carter moment on Sky News, saying Britons are in despair. I am battling cultural challenges in the NHS too, whether that’s people abdicating responsibility, not listening to patients, covering things up when things go wrong. And all of those things undermine public trust and confidence, not just in the NHS, but in the ability of government, by which I mean any government, to be able to effect change. You can use modular forms of building. That means it can go up much faster than would normally be the case, and there are planning processes that we can use in these circumstances to make sure that the planning system itself isn’t delayed. I’m expecting announcements to come on that within weeks, so we just have to wait and see. Continue reading...