More councils considering legal action against ‘unsafe’ asylum seeker hotels

At least nine more councils are considering legal action against the Home Office over ‘unsafe’ hotels for asylum seekers, The Independent can reveal.Six have already sought injunctions against the use of accommodation in their areas, with leaders raising concerns about the ‘health and safety of the people placed in these hotels’.The Local Government Association, a representative group for councils in England, said the status quo was ‘not working’ and called for ‘urgent conversations’ with the government to tackle the issue. It comes after the overcrowding crisis at the Manston immigration processing centre, in Kent, where asylum seekers were forced to sleep on cardboard amid reports of scabies, diphtheria and MRSA at the camp.Questions have been raised about how asylum seekers in hotels can receive support from local services, such as GPs, when in some cases councils are only notified of Home Office plans to move refugees to their area after the event.Council leaders said that government officials were choosing inappropriate locations for the hotels, such as one hotel in Epping Forest that is in an isolated location on a busy road and far away from shops and public transport.’The Home Office has acted alone on this. There was no consultation … Apart from the stress on local services, we have real concerns for the health and safety of the people placed in these hotels,’ Epping Forest Borough Councillor Holly Whitbread said.The Local Government Association said it was essential for the Home Office to engage with councils before moving asylum seekers to the area Colchester borough, Coventry city, Torbay, Uttlesford district, Conwy, Erewash, West Northhamptonshire, Reigate Banstead, Swale and Epping Forest councils all said they were either considering taking legal action against the government or were ‘monitoring’ action taken by other councils. Some local authorities, such as Ipswich council, have already had success seeking injunctions against new asylum seeker hotel plans. The growing number of councils considering legal action will add to pressure on the Home Office as they try to ease overcrowding at the Manston site. Anne-Marie Bond, chief executive of Torbay council, said that it stood ‘ready to issue urgent injunction proceedings’. She added that the council was struggling to cope with a significant number of age-disputed asylum seekers who needed help from local child and young people services. Councillor Martin Tett, leader of Buckinghamshire council, said that it was keen to welcome refugees but raised ‘significant concerns’ about the lack of consultation from the Home Office. In Coventry, the council said that it would ‘not hesitate to use’ legal action if necessary. It added that ‘specialist health services and local charities are already struggling to support and manage the demand’ from those in the hotels. Wirral council said it was only notified of a plan to accommodate a group of asylum seekers in the area ‘after the Home Office had already started to implement it’. Conwy council in Wales said it was seeking legal advice and considering what action it could take. A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said that the ‘current arrangements are not working as many councils are not being consulted or informed in advance about the use of hotels for asylum-seeking adults and children’.’It is essential the Home Office works properly with councils to help them plan the local services needed to support new arrivals and keep them safe,’ they added.The government has been contacted for comment.