Chagos Islands: Crawley Council fears bankruptcy over citizenship

Crawley Borough Council has claimed that it could face an “imminent funding crisis” over the decision to grant thousands of people from the Chagos Islands British Citizenship.

The islands, owned by the UK, are no longer populated after Chagossians were evicted in the 1960s and 1970s to build an American military base.

The biggest community of Chagossians in the UK, around 3,000 people, is in Crawley.

In an open letter to the Home Office and Foreign Office, councillor Michael Jones said: “Our request for New Burdens Funding was made in November 2022. It is now the end of October 2023 and we have still to hear the outcome.

“As the authority primarily affected, I have to say this is hugely frustrating, and is symptomatic of the lack of impact assessment, planning and response of government with regards to these issues.

“Your government's continued delay in decision making on this crucial issue for Crawley risks placing a financial crisis on the council that would have serious effects on its finances and profoundly threatens wider service delivery.

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“Frankly, this delay has added to uncertainty, workload and risk on key teams, undermining our efforts locally to respond to the raft of housing and migration challenges facing this town, challenges which are entirely the direct consequence of policy decisions made by your government.”

Crawley Borough Council has claimed that over 3,000 Chagossians have been granted citizenship since November 2022 adding that pressures on accessing housing for the extra people could lead them to “effectively declare bankruptcy”.

American planes on the Chagos Islands

The council estimates that 100 households arriving in Crawley would cost them £2.73 million in temporary housing costs, amounting to 20 per cent of the council’s net revenue budget.

The Chagos Islands consists of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean. The UK bought the colony from Mauritius in 1965 for £3 million.

A spokesman for the government said: “We continue to work closely with Crawley Borough Council to prepare for potential arrivals into the area and will update further in due course.”