Western Morning News (Saturday)
‘Unsuitable hotel’ takes in 55 asylum seekers
MORE than 50 asylum seekers have moved into a hotel in North Devon, just weeks after the Home Office had declared the site in Ilfracombe was not suitable.
At the start of October, it had been confirmed that the Home Office intended to house people at the Dilkhusa Grand Hotel while they wait for a decision on their asylum application. Concerns were raised by both North Devon Council and the MP for the area, Selaine Saxby, about the plan, which led to a Home Office U-turn.
But in a statement, the Home Office has confirmed that the hotel has now been commissioned and there are currently 55 people in the hotel who have arrived in the UK seeking asylum.
North Devon Council, Devon County Council and North Devon MP Selaine Saxby are urgently seeking clarification of the situation, after none of them were consulted or formally notified about the change by the Home Office
Ms Saxby, speaking in the House of Commons, questioned who is managing the dispersal of asylum seekers to hotels. She said: “Having raised it previously, it’s not DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) and it does not seem to be the Home Office either.”
Earlier this month, the Home Office said the use of hotels to house asylum seekers was “unacceptable” and they were “working with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.”
Ms Saxby said she had “in writing” from one of the departments that a hotel in her constituency “would definitely not be used”, but added: “Last night [the hotel] filled up, and has security on the door, which is not normal for tourist hotels in North Devon.”
The MP asked for whichever minister is responsible for these decisions to come to the House and update members and explain “why these decisions seems to be being taken without any information reaching the councils or their MPs”.
Cllr David Worden, leader of North Devon Council, said in a statement: “Last month, North Devon Council received formal notification from the Home Office of the potential use of the Dilkhusa Grand Hotel, Ilfracombe, as a contingency hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.
“We wrote to the Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes, the Home Office accommodation provider, raising significant concerns over the process and the suitability of Ilfracombe for this type of accommodation.
“At a multi-agency forum on Friday, October 7, we and other agencies repeated concerns that Ilfracombe is an unsuitable location for use as asylum accommodation...
“Following this, on Thursday, October 13 we were advised that a decision had been made not to progress the hotel as asylum contingency accommodation.”
But Cllr Worden added: “It has come to our notice that the Dilkhusa has now been commissioned and there are currently 55 people in the hotel who have arrived in the UK seeking asylum.
“Both we, Devon County Council and Selaine Saxby MP are urgently seeking to gain a full understanding of the situation... and we will review any appropriate actions we can take in light of the information we receive.”
Earlier this year, over 100 people were moved into a seafront hotel in Paignton without the knowledge or input of Torbay councillors.