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Asylum-seekers are at risk in hotels, warns Bishop of Sheffield

24 January 2025

Alamy

Refugees housed in Cresta Court Hotel, in Altrincham, wave to supporters taking part in a Unity Rally outside the hotel, in November

Refugees housed in Cresta Court Hotel, in Altrincham, wave to supporters taking part in a Unity Rally outside the hotel, in November

DEPENDENCE on hotels as a stopgap solution to housing asylum-seekers is neither compassionate nor sustainable, Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative) told the House of Lords on Monday.

He was asking the Government when it intended to cease the practice: it was an issue that resonated deeply with communities across the country, he said: “It’s not just about fiscal responsibility, but about rebuilding public confidence in our immigration system, fostering community cohesion, and ensuring Britain remains a nation of both compassion and order.”

He described the cost, £8 million a day, as “staggering expenditure” and “indefensible”, and called on the Government to accelerate the clearing of the asylum backlog and tackle illegal crossings at their source.

Baroness Lister (Labour) feared that hotels had become “an obsession of the Right, used by some to whip up hostility to asylum-seekers”.

The impression given was that these were “living a comfortable life in four-star hotels. Not so,” she said. Recent reports had painted a picture of “terrible living conditions, unhygienic and dilapidated accommodation”, overcrowding, and lack of privacy, very poor and inadequate food, and accommodation that was often unsuitable for children.

The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, reminded the Lords of events in Rotherham last August, when a group of asylum-seekers staying in a Holiday Inn Express were targeted (News, 9 August 2024). At the request of the Mayor of South Yorkshire, he had later arranged for a church in Sheffield to offer sanctuary to another group.

“Quite simply, it subjects asylum-seekers to danger if they are placed in hotels in visible numbers,” Dr Wilcox said. “Dispersed accommodation offers greater protection and, for that reason, we should move to that provision as swiftly as possible.”

The Bishop also raised the question of access to support services for unaccompanied children. “Asylum-seekers themselves are not to blame for the strain on the public purse,” he said. “In any case, each is an individual created in the image and likeness of God, to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect — especially in view of their very real vulnerability.”

Lord Hanson, Minister of State at the Home Office, agreed with the Bishop and others that the total costs were “simply eye-watering and not a good use of taxpayers’ money. They are not even a good way of ensuring the safety and security of the people in these hotels, particularly women fleeing persecution,” he said.

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