Another 10,000 asylum seekers are set to be moved into houses, flats and bedsits in London, the southern counties and Wales, according to an exclusive report. The plan, revealed by the chief of an asylum home provider, has sparked warnings of 'HMO Britain'.
Channel Migrants Could Be Housed Alongside Social Tenants
Channel migrants could be given homes alongside social housing tenants under plans being considered by council chiefs. Hundreds could be given beds in properties shared with local authorities for social housing.
The revelation comes as new figures show Labour's plan to house migrants in military bases is currently costing more than hotels. Keeping 350 people in Crowborough is costing taxpayers £160 a night, £16 more expensive than the average hotel room.
Clearspring Ready Homes Plan
Chris Lakey, CEO of Clearspring Ready Homes, the site's operator, admitted the 'main thrust' of their plan is to cram more people into already overstretched communities. He told MPs: 'Our main thrust has always been to come away from hotels and to try to get back to our core business, which, as you quite rightly identified, is dispersal accommodation.'
'We have had negotiations and conversations with the Home Office and with the local authorities and communities about how we can significantly increase dispersal. We have plans in place to increase dispersal by up to 10,000 additional bedspaces and we are about 50% of the way through the proposals to do that. They have been submitted to the Home Office and they are now at the proposal stage.'
2,500 Migrants to Be Moved Soon
Some 2,500 migrants are expected to be moved into some of the new homes in the coming weeks and months. The properties will be furnished after a 'consultation' with local councils. But 'they are proposed, ready to go, and waiting to be turned live', Mr Lakey added.
The asylum accommodation provider admitted there are a limited number of properties, leading to new proposals. 'We are working with two local authorities at the moment that have sites that they are hoping to use for social housing, but they are too big for that', Mr Lakey told the Home Affairs Select Committee. 'We are looking at maybe using them as part social housing, part asylum/DA accommodation. A few conversations are going on at the minute. Basically, half the site would be for asylum, half the site would be for move-on accommodation for when somebody gets a move-on decision.'
Current Asylum Seeker Numbers
There are now 68,719 asylum seekers living in houses, flats and bedsits, including large HMOs, in communities across the country. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to close every migrant hotel by the next General Election.
But the growing numbers in 'dispersal accommodation' will anger the public even more due to a lack of infrastructure. Home Office Minister Alex Norris said he expected the nightly cost at Crowborough to fall to about £135 by the end of the year, which he managed to sell as a £9 saving compared to hotels.
He told MPs: 'The commitment we have made and our belief is that these types of sites should tread as lightly as possible on the local community's lives. The value proposition is significant in this, too, not least in driving demand down.'
Labour MP Criticises 'HMO Britain'
New Labour MP Andy Burnham vowed to bring an end to 'HMO Britain' in an attack on the immigration system. Calling for 'a change too from the Home Office', Mr Burnham said: 'I heard on so many doorsteps people's concerns about the unfairness of the immigration system, that cut price approach to procurement that means areas like this can end up like HMO Britain.'
'It's not fair that they think that they can just operate like that and not hear the call of people here, the decent people here who always will do the right thing, the compassionate thing, but not when it's unfair in terms of the way places like this are treated.'
Alternative Proposals
Labour MP Chris Murray said the Home Office should replace existing agreements with an incentive-based model where local authorities are paid to build housing stock. He said: 'There is a wide network of social housing providers and housing associations who are looking for the quid pro-quos here. You're not going to get it uniform across the whole country. But where there are places we can innovate and fund local authorities, why would we give that £15 billion to a private company and not a council or a housing association if they were able to provide that?'
A Home Office spokesman said: 'We do not recognise these figures. We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation including ex-military sites. This is an important step in ending the perception you can arrive in the UK illegally and be put up in a hotel. We have already seen results. The population of asylum seekers in hotels has fallen by 35 per cent in the last year and by 63 per cent from the peak under the previous government. Overall asylum costs have already fallen by nearly £1 billion since this government was elected.'
