Fears councils will have to pay to house migrants in same hotels after government contracts end

Earlier this week the Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick announced that the number of hotels used to house migrants will be cut by 50 over the next three months.

In Shropshire there have been a number of hotels used to house asylum seekers in recent years,

That number is now reduced to just one, in the Shropshire Council area, which is overseen and run by the company Serco.

But, there are concerns that when the government stops using the accommodation, those using it will be left with nowhere to go, leaving councils having to find fresh places for them to live.

Shropshire Council has said that it would process any claims for those with the right to remain in the country in the same as any other homeless applications.

It comes as Councillor Shaun Davies, the leader of the Local Government Association, and the Labour leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said authorities across the country are concerned about what will happen when the government stops using the hotels.

Councillor Davies said: "Hotel closures have a direct impact on councils and local government wants to play an active role in working with Government on the decisions on which hotels to close.

"We also need advance engagement on what other alternatives, including large sites, will be opened up both for those leaving hotels and for ongoing new arrivals."

He added that councils are "also becoming increasingly concerned over the numbers of asylum seekers presenting as homeless which is likely to dramatically increase when Home Office accommodation is withdrawn as a result of the current clearance of the asylum backlog".

He called for a "joint and funded approach nationally, regionally and locally to manage the move on from asylum accommodation and avoid risks of destitution and street homelessness throughout the winter".

Mr Davies said: "The deep irony is that it might be the same hotels that the Government are looking to close down for their purposes are the very same hotels that local authorities will have to stand up and fund for temporary accommodation."

Laura Fisher, Head of Housing, Resettlement and Independent Living at Shropshire Council said the authority would only be responsible for any asylum seekers or migrants who are granted leave to remain.

She said: "There is one hotel with in the Shropshire Local Authority area which is overseen and run by Serco and the hotel directly.

"At this time Shropshire Council has not been advised that our Shropshire hotel has been earmarked for closure. We will ensure ongoing dialogue with the Home Office around this.

"Residents who have been granted indefinite leave to remain, will be processed as per any eligible homeless application within the county. Any residents who have their claim rejected will be supported within the Home Office guidance."

Shrewsbury & Atcham's Conservative MP, Daniel Kawczynski, said he welcomed the prospect of the hotel in the county currently in use, which is in his constituency, being returned to its regular use.

He said he had met with Mr Jenrick to discuss the matter earlier today and had urged him to include it in the first tranche of hotels the government ceases using.

He said: "I have stated that it is highly inappropriate for them to use a hotel in the location it is, that these are illegal immigrants who need to be held in secure facilities so they are assessed before the state decides whether they are genuine asylum seekers, and not in a hotel in Shrewsbury where they can abscond.

"They have entered the country illegally. We benefit enormously from hundreds of thousands of people coming to our country seeking a better life – legally.

"They go through the system, convince a business entity to employ them, they follow the rules and we welcome them in.

"These people have chosen to bypass the system and pay illegal gangs."