Cash offered to take in migrants as hotels fill up
Homeowners offered money amid worsening crisis on coast
ILLEGAL migrants will be placed in homes in West Midlands because there is nowhere else to put them, it has emerged.
Homeowners are being offered cash in return for putting a roof over the heads of migrants who have entered Britain after crossing the Channel.
Officials have drawn up the plan because hotel space is running out, as the system becomes overwhelmed with the number of people arriving in the country.
Private contractor Serco runs the asylum seekers dispersal scheme for the Home Office and is offering deals for up to five years, including rent for each month and maintenance costs.
It will also pay tenants’ council tax, plus gas and electricity bills.
More than 38,000 migrants have arrived in the UK in 2022 as the Government has struggled to get a grip of the issue.
Serco is currently housing at least 30,000 asylum-seekers in 6,000 homes in the UK.
The contractor has now issued a fresh call, saying it will consider all types of properties in the Midlands,
North West and East of England.
Landlords of empty properties are among those being sought, plus owners of second homes, care homes and former student digs. Serco also said it would be speaking to local councils.
The Home Office has admitted it splashes out nearly £7 million every day on housing migrants – up £2 million since February.
MPs were told that the Government is spending £5.6 million a day on accommodation for illegal migrants, with costs continuing to soar.
Another £1.2 million is paid to house asylum-seekers who fled the
Taliban in Afghanistan.
Albanians are now the single biggest nationality arriving in the UK, with 12,000 already this year.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels.
“As a result of this incredible strain, there are currently more than 33,000 asylum-seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer more than £5million a day.
“This is unacceptable and we are working hard with local authorities to find safe, permanent accommodation.”