The current contract system for asylum accommodation isn’t working and major reforms are needed.

That’s the conclusion of the Common’s Home Affairs Committee which brands the state of some asylum accommodation provided by Government contractors a “disgrace” and says it is “shameful” that very vulnerable people have been placed in these conditions.

The Committee found appalling conditions prevailed including Vermin, infestations of mice, rats and bedbugs were the second biggest source of complaint of people living in dispersed accommodation
Families unable to put their children down on dirty carpet and rotten sofas and Inadequate support for vulnerable people, for example women in the late stages of pregnancy being placed in rooms up several flights of stairs or being made to share a bedroom.

Three Greater Manchester local authorities figured in the top ten of authorities in the country taking asylum seekers.Bolton had 1049, Rochdale 1029 and Manchester 994 while Salford had taken in 728 and Oldham 661

Among the recommendations, the committee action to improve standards and monitoring,including giving local authorities powers of inspection, higher standards and new penalties.

This process should be reformed to take account of the experience and particular needs of extremely vulnerable people including victims of torture and trafficking, those with issues relating to gender, women who are pregnant and new mothers.
The committee recommended the Home Office tspeed up processing so fewer people need asylum accommodation – the Committee has warned in previous reports that a backlog in cases has been developing. Those warnings were not heeded and the consequences are now evident. Pressure on the asylum system, and on accommodation in particular, will not reduce unless the Government takes action to increase its capacity to process applications.

Chair of the committee Yvette Cooper MP, said:

“The state of accommodation for some asylum seekers and refugees in this country is a disgrace. And the current contract system just isn’t working. Major reforms are needed.

We have come across too many examples of vulnerable people in unsafe accommodation for example children living with infestations of mice, rats or bed bugs, lack of health care for pregnant women, or inadequate support for victims of rape and torture. No one should be living in conditions like that.

Even where the accommodation and support are of a good standard, it is still far too concentrated in the most deprived areas. It is completely unfair on those local authorities and communities that have signed up and are now taking many more people, when so many local authorities in more affluent areas are still doing nothing at all.

The Home Office needs to act urgently to raise standards, improve the inspection regime, deal with delays in asylum claim processing which are pushing the numbers up and ensure there is adequate funding.

The current contract system is badly designed and puts local authorities off from signing up. Ministers should learn from the success of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme which has given local authorities far more control and has also got far more local authorities involved. Similar reforms are needed for asylum seekers. But ultimately if local authorities still fail to sign up, then Ministers should be prepared to use their powers to insist that areas do their fair share.

And when the current contracts run out, they should be replaced with a completely new system – handing power back to local areas to decide on asylum accommodation rather than this top down approach.

The scale of the international refugee crisis means Britain must continue to do its bit to help asylum seekers and refugees in need of sanctuary. And we should be proud to do so. But that means it is vital that the Home Office makes sure the system is working – to support vulnerable people and local communities too.”

 

 

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