"go Home Vans" Hailed A Fantastic Success

[Gromit]

The pilot sheme telling illigal immigrants that the face arrest has had some success...

// In a written statement, Immigration Minister Mark Harper said 60 voluntary departures "can be directly attributed" to the overall efforts of Operation Vaken and a further 65 cases "are currently being progressed towards departure".

He said the voluntary departures represent a notional saving of £830,000, based on the average £15,000 cost of an enforced removal. //

But the Home Secretary is scraping the scheme. In view of its success, is that a mistake?

[weecalf]

I thought when I fist heard this it was a joke .Second time now I know it a joke like summit out of Father Ted ."Now that enough of that nonsence " type of thing..

[jno]

how many departures per van is that? And how much must the drivers' wages be offset against the savings? These numbers need crunching, but on the face of it, wouldn't there have been more savings to be made by hiring immigrants to drive the vans?

[anotheoldgit]

Any link Gromit?

[ToraToraTora]

Yes they should keep the vans.

[jno]

here's a link, aog; Gromit may have a different one in mind

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24755547

[Bazile]

I'm writing this from the northern province of Uttar Pradesh .

The return flight was ....

[boxtops]

I'd heard that only a handful of people went home as a result of the vans. 60's a drop in the ocean.

[Old_Geezer]

In my experience any trial, and any result, can & will be claimed a success for the authorities. There's always something they can point to no matter how small, even if not part of any initial aim.

[naomi24]

There are more sides to this than initially meet the eye. Think how useful this could be for people who are trafficked here and find themselves trapped in prostitution, slavery, crime, etc. They can now to walk into a police station and potentially extricate themselves from what is an otherwise hopeless situation.

[youngmafbog]

The Vans should have been kept.

There is a hidden benefit in that it shows to illegals we know they are there and we dont want them.

what doesn't happen which needs to so we get full impact is mas forced repatriation. I'd like to know how it costs £15K, surely a cattle class ticket to Afghanistan is not that much. Couln't we send them back with a load of squaddies, I'm sure they would make sure they behaved themselves.

Opps forgot again, how silly of me. THE ECHR and the EUSSR. We are not in control of our country are we.

[emmie]

it wasn't a success - then again they have to try and do something about the many who get into UK illegally, they either overstay short visas or marry someone from the EU, having watched for my sins some of the programmes on UK border control they can be very effective, however some of the illegals who get turfed out seem to find their way back here. Some who get caught at Calais wait until they can hop on another lorry - and get through - it's a cat and mouse game, with UK being the loser, seeing how they will disappear into the ether of a big city, and they will be the loser by being illegal, not protected in any way from exploitation that is if they find work.

[ludwig]

I'd like a few billboard vans driving up and down outside parliament..

"Still fiddling your expenses? Stop it or face ..er..well, nothing much really. Just stop it ok?"

If I had the money I'd fund it.

[joko]

youfmabog - its not just the cost of the airfare.

its wages for people to go and get the people, maybe with police presence, cost of transporting them to where they will be held while waiting to be processed, cost of housing them overnight in cells or whatever, its people to do the paper work, the cost of the offices for them to sit in to do it, its admin costs - international phone calls , printing, paper etc, its travel to the airport etc -then the ticket ... it mounts up.