The new leader of Trafford council has written to the Home Secretary protesting about the use of a hotel in Hale village for to house 121 asylum seekers. Coun Tom Ross has written to Suella Braverman raising concerns over the 'lack of dialogue and planning' surrounding the decision. The Local Democracy Reporting Service has chosen not to name the hotel in question.
In his letter, Coun Ross says the move is not helped by the ‘disjointed and confusing implementation’. He wrote: "We object to the principle of using hotels in this way as they are not a suitable type of accommodation to house and support asylum seekers in the right way."
The council has not yet been told the make-up of the group, which is not expected to arrive in Trafford before Friday (January 20). It has a legal duty to provide healthcare and safeguarding and is working with NHS colleagues and local charities around practical issues, like supplying clothing and toiletries, as the group are only entitled to a small subsistence payment.
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Trafford's community safety team is also liaising with Greater Manchester Police. Coun Ross said: “I felt it was important to write to the Home Secretary to set out our concerns about the lack of information and basic planning behind this decision.
“As a local authority, we have a series of legal obligations which we are obliged to fulfil, but we are also entitled to point out that housing asylum seekers in hotels without the proper support arrangements is simply not good enough.” He added: “We have teams on stand-by and have moved quickly to make all necessary arrangements, but the lack of clarity from the Home Office is a problem.
“We have received a lot of messages in recent days pointing out that this move might even constitute a change of purpose in regard to the hotel. I have asked the council’s planning team to look into the matter and will report back shortly.”
The plans have been described by a Trafford MP as the ‘most inappropriate location'. Altrincham and Sale West MP Sir Graham Brady said he had learned before Christmas of the government’s plans to use a hotel in the village as temporary accommodation. He said that accommodating the group of young men, who would not be allowed to work, could cause issues in the village.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain. The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 45,500 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day.
“We engage with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people.”
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