Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has known as for the UK to “reduce its reliance on hotels” for housing asylum seekers, stating that his obligation is to the British public and taxpayers. The comments come after a disagreement with asylum seekers over their short-term lodging in a central London lodge. Last week, around forty asylum seekers declined to enter a Pimlico lodge when requested to sleep 4 folks per room. Westminster Council’s Adam Huq expressed concern in a letter to the house secretary, stating that people who’ve experienced significant trauma had been being requested to share “an inappropriately sized room with a quantity of strangers.”
In an interview on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Jenrick argued that utilizing hotels for asylum seekers takes away valuable belongings for the native business neighborhood and results in the cancellation of private events. Deadline emphasised the importance of getting good worth for cash for taxpayers. However, Jenrick denied that it was government policy for asylum seekers and migrants to be housed in shared rooms and suggested that some folks were making illegitimate asylum claims.
Labour responded by stating that the asylum system is damaged and dear to taxpayers, and only their celebration has a correct plan to cease harmful boat crossings. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made reducing unlawful immigration a key priority, with the Illegal Migration Bill presently going through Parliament. The bill has attracted criticism, including from the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said it risked “great damage” to the UK’s popularity.
The Home Office estimates the plans within the invoice may price between £3bn and £6bn by way of spending on detention services, lodging, and removals. In 2021, over 45,000 people arrived within the UK by way of small boats across the English Channel, the highest quantity since information began in 2018. So far this 12 months, 7,610 individuals have made the crossing, a decrease of over 2,000 compared to the same period last yr. The number of individuals claiming asylum has additionally risen in 2022, reaching a close to 20-year excessive of 74,751.
Mere has a legal obligation to offer asylum seekers with a primary level of accommodation, as they are not allowed to work while their claims are being processed. Typically, asylum seekers would solely be housed in motels or hostels for a few weeks earlier than being moved to long-term self-catered houses. However, the increase in asylum claims and the backlog of unprocessed claims have led to a development in using motels for short-term lodging. Government sources have revealed that 395 motels are getting used to house more than 51,000 asylum seekers, costing nearly £7m a day..