The Home Office is still in the “early stages” of plans to house migrants at Catterick Garrison barracks with “no decisions taken on” the timescale for the move.

It comes four months after Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, claimed that Rishi Sunak was showing “leadership” by bringing forward the proposals for the site in his constituency.

This week ITV reported that the plans have not made significant progress since, according to the Home Office.

"The Home Office’s investigations of the suitability of Catterick are in the early stages and no agreement has been signed,” the department said.

“No decision has been made on scale, infrastructure design, delivery timescales or cost estimates.”

It comes after claims that the Prime Minister’s council is “no clearer” over the use of the military barracks to house asylum seekers than when the plans were first announced in March.

Carl Les, the Conservative leader of North Yorkshire Council said that the council is waiting for the Home Office and Ministry of Defence to come to an agreement over the use of the facility and that the council is “waiting to be told”.

The military town received £19 million in funding from the Government’s flagship Levelling Up Fund to regenerate the town centre at the beginning of this year.

Yesterday small boat crossings continued as the number of migrants arriving in the UK via the English Channel looked set to top 17,000 so far in 2023.

About 50 suspected asylum seekers were seen being brought ashore on the Kent coast by the RNLI Dungeness lifeboat on Wednesday.

Border Force is reportedly preparing for what it calls “red” days, when the warm weather and calm sea conditions are favourable for small boat crossings.

The good weather being experienced on England’s south coast is expected to continue into the weekend.

Home Office has 'no timescale' for when migrants will be moved to Catterick Garrison