Trafford Council Leader, Cllr Tom Ross, has written to Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, raising concerns over the ‘lack of dialogue and planning’ about the Home Office’s decision to house up to 121 asylum seekers at the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale village.
In his letter, Cllr Ross says the move is not helped by the ‘disjointed and confusing implementation.’
‘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,’ he wrote.
The Council has not yet been told the make-up of the group, which is not expected to arrive in Trafford before next Friday (20 Jan).
The council 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.
The Council’s community safety team is also liaising with Greater Manchester Police.
Councillor 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.”
