MP’s anger as asylum seeker deal extended ‘A major failing that our asylum system isn’t more humane’
Immigration minister invited to visit hotel after deal to house refugees is renewed until October 2023...
A BARNSLEY MP has slammed the Home Office after it extended its exclusive contract with a local hotel to house asylum seekers until October 2023 – without any community consultation.
Holiday Inn’s Express branch, on Manvers Way, Wath-upon-Dearne, will continue to be used, according to the Home Office, having previously accommodated Afghan families.
John Healey, MP for Wentworth and Dearne, has invited the senior Home Office director in London to visit the site this month so she can see for herself the problems with the Manvers location.
He said: “I am extremely disappointed to be told that the Home Office have extended the exclusive contract with the Holiday Inn at Manvers for another year, until October 2023.
“Once again, this is a decision that has been taken without consultation with our local community, council or agencies and it goes against what the government said back in March, that this would be a ‘temporary’ use.”
Following the contract extension, John has written to the Home Secretary and fixed a face-to-face meeting with the immigration minister, where he will press him to undertake a six-month review of the new contract and release the hotel again for commercial guests.
“When I met the hotel owners in the summer, I made clear the strength of local feeling over getting the hotel back open to the public,” he added.
“They confirmed in that discussion, and again now when they told me about the extended Home Office contract, that ‘the longer-term plan is to operate Holiday Inn Express, Rotherham very much as a hotel facility and support tourism in the area’.
“They have also given a clear undertaking to invest in refurbishing the hotel prior to re-opening it as a Holiday Inn Express again. “I am determined to hold them to this.”
In his letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman MP, John described the extension as ‘unwelcome’ and shared four reservations – the first is the suitability of the Manvers area, the second is community cohesion and the prospect of local far-right groups, the lack of capacity for health needs and the lack of BAME groups in the area.
He added the use of hotels as accommodation for those seeking asylum – around 130 in Manvers – is a ‘direct result of a failing and unfair asylum system’.
“The government has lost control of people crossing the channel and the House of Commons Library figures confirm that the number entering the UK in small boats has risen from 1,843 in 2019 to more than 28,000 in 2021,” he said.
“This year numbers are already even higher.
“Meanwhile, as the Home Office is taking longer to process asylum applications, the backlog has tripled in the last four years with a total of 109,735 asylum seekers stuck in the system awaiting a decision at the end of March.”
FEWER asylum seekers were receiving support in Barnsley last year despite the ‘rapid rise’ in people applying to become refugees, new figures have revealed.
Statistics from the Home Office show only 316 asylum seekers received support from local authorities in the town at the end of June.
It’s down from 367 the year before – almost a 14 per cent decrease.
Of the asylum seekers currently in Barnsley, 24 were in receipt of Section 4 support – meaning they had an application rejected but are destitute and are temporarily unable to leave the country.
A further 292 received Section 95 support which is a provision of subsistence and accommodation if needed while waiting for a decision on their application.
The asylum application is lengthy and in some cases can take years, meaning support is provided for extended periods of time.
Across the UK, more than 116,000 asylum seekers had received support – almost double the 62,900 of last year.
This included 77,400 people receiving Section 95 support and 5,400 receiving Section 4 support.
A further 33,400 people were given temporary accommodation to prevent them from destitution as they await a verdict on their application for more long-term care.
Barnsley’s figures go against the grain, and are a shock following the number of people fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian invasion rising.
Almost 100 visas have been issued for Ukrainians to stay with hosts in the town since March through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
As of August 2, 90 visas had been issued for refugees staying with hosts in Barnsley – 58 of which has already arrived in the town.
Refugee charities say they are deeply concerned with the ‘growing number of people living in limbo’ and urged the government to address the backlog of application and provide greater financial support to those awaiting decisions.
Enver Soloman, chief executive at the Refugee Council, said asylum seekers awaiting decisions are extremely vulnerable as they are banned from working, and must live on less than £6 a day.
“It is a major failing of this government that our asylum system doesn’t work more efficiently and humanely to prevent this from happening,” he added.
“Instead of seeking to expel men, women and children to Rwanda, the government should focus on creating a fair, humane and orderly asylum system that speeds up decision making, grants protection for those that need it, and enables those whose applications are denied to return safely, and with dignity, to the country that they came from.”