Pregnant women ‘must be moved out of hotels’
Action urged over asylum seekers
SCOTLAND’S Children’s Commissioner has demanded the Home Office move pregnant asylum seekers from “dehumanising” conditions in Glasgow to prevent their children suffering long-term damage.
The UK Government and its housing contractor Mears has been accused of “violating children’s human rights” by accommodating pregnant women and new mothers in hotel accommodation in the city.
As revealed in The Herald last month, some 10 women had been placed in Mclays Guest House without, it was alleged by charities, adequate food or space to tend to their newborns.
Conditions in the B&B were first raised by the charity Positive Action in Housing, which has been lobbying for long-term housing to be found for the women.
The office of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland has now taken up the cause, calling the conditions in the hotel “gravely concerning”.
Nick Hobbs, Head of Advice and Investigations for the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, said: “Human rights are universal. They apply to all children without exception, and regardless of immigration status.
“It is gravely concerning that there are reports of pregnant mothers and infants being housed in hotel rooms and without the financial support they need.
“Hotel accommodation is completely unsuitable for children and families and should only be used on a short-term basis in an emergency.”
Mr Hobbs stressed the urgency of the situation, adding: “The Mears Group must act immediately to move these families out of this precarious, vulnerable situation and into suitable accommodation.
“Failure to do so would violate the children’s human rights with severe impacts on health, education and development that can last throughout childhood and into adulthood.”
Pregnant women and new mothers had previously been housed in a Mother and Baby Unit in Glasgow’s south side, but this was closed in May following a campaign by a coalition of charities backed by the Children’s Commissioner.
The intention had been for women and children to be moved to flatted accommodation, but Mears said a lack of suitable homes in the community had forced the use of hotels.
As with Positive Action in Housing, the charity Amma Birth Companions has been working directly with women in Mclays Guest House and in other hotels across Glasgow.
Peer support coordinator Beti Brown and perinatal service manager Helen Sheriff described conditions in the hotel as wholly unsuitable and designed to be used for emergencies only, rather than long-term accommodation. They said the issue is growing rapidly and
they have concerns about the long term impact on those they support.
Ms Brown said: “You cannot live comfortably and safely in institutionalised accommodation, which is what this is. I think people hear the word ‘hotel’ and they think it’s fancy; it’s not that kind of hotel and, actually, the reality is that even if it was a really lovely hotel, having no control over your environment or autonomy is deeply dehumanising at any point in your life let alone when people are pregnant.
“You’re living in chronic uncertainty and you can’t live like that comfortably while also trying to keep this tiny new creature alive you’ve just given birth to.
“It’s a deeply dehumanising situation to keep anyone in.”
Ms Brown and Ms Sheriff described families they support with more than one child living in a hotel room, leaving no personal space for older children to have privacy or to study.
While living in fully catered accommodation, people seeking asylum are given £1 a day to live on with new mothers entitled to an additional £8.24 a week – doubling their budget to just over £2 a day to provide for their babies.
Ms Brown said increasing the payment would give women more dignity and choice, and that access to cooking equipment would be an important improvement.
In hotels, residents have no access to kitchens, which means women expressing breast milk have nowhere to store it.
Ms Brown said: “You can make formula in the rooms but it’s not cheap and we shouldn’t be encouraging situations where it’s safer for you to make formula than it is to breastfeed.”
Issues have also been raised about the quality of food and the lack of space in hotel rooms.
Ms Sheriff spoke of a mother bathing her newborn in a baby bath balanced on a lavatory because it was the only available space, while a new mother The Herald spoke to said she was co-sleeping with her infant only because there was no room for a cot.
Robina Qureshi, chief executive of Positive Action in Housing, described the conditions of one of the women her charity is supporting.
She said: “The room is a crowded fire hazard, and boiling kettles are crammed next to food and washing tabs and open cartons of food on Soraya’s table.
“The mother’s condition has deteriorated considerably, especially her mental health, and the baby cries continuously.
“She has nowhere to put the baby’s items and has refused a pram as there is nowhere to put it and is therefore confined to the room 24/7.”
The hotels are a mixed-sex environment and the charity said many of its clients have experienced sexual violence or human trafficking, making housing with unknown men further unsuitable.
Ms Brown added: “This situation is not an accident.
“It’s part of a pattern of behaviour, a pattern of policy designed to make people miserable. It’s designed to tell people, not only are you not welcome here, but to get them to tell other people that it’s awful here and not to come.”
A Home Office spokesman said the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is “unacceptable” while Mears said a property shortage made finding appropriate accommodation difficult.
The Home Office representative said: “The use of hotels to house asylum seekers, including pregnant women and mothers of newborns, is unacceptable and we are working closely with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation across the United Kingdom.”
A Mears spokesman described hotel use as “contingency accommodation” being used by the Home Office across the UK but said pregnant service users are prioritised for moves.
He added: “Due to the rise in the number of people seeking asylum and an acute shortage of suitable accommodation in the community, hotels are being used as contingency accommodation by the Home Office across the UK.”
It’s part of a pattern of behaviour, a pattern of policy designed to make people miserable