New report finds shameful conditions and treatment of people in asylum accommodation
A new report by Refugee Action examines the problems faced by asylum seekers living in temporary or contingency accommodation in hotels and accommodation centres.
The 35-page can be downloaded here.
Refugee Action says its report reveals the shameful conditions and treatment of people in asylum accommodation, with thousands facing what amounts to de facto immigration detention.
The report explains: "At the time of writing there are 105,522 people in asylum accommodation. They are detained indefinitely, segregated from communities, do not have access to legal or welfare services and have limited contact with the outside world due to restrictions and the cost of transport and communications. They live in an environment of fear of attacks by racist groups stoked by dangerous, inflammatory, racist language of politicians and sections of the media. In this system, people who came to the UK seeking safety are forced to live in conditions so bad that they present a clear threat to their lives."
The vast majority of asylum seekers being currently housed in temporary or contingency accommodation are from countries in the Middle East and Africa.
"What emerges is a picture in which brown and black people are being held for months and years in segregated spaces, cut off from communities, in buildings that are called 'hotels' but are in reality de-facto detention," the report notes.
It adds: "In hotels people are held indefinitely, their freedom of movement and basic liberties are restricted. They are held in rooms where they are unable to receive guests or arrange childcare and they are told that if they leave for short periods, such as one or two days they will not be able to return. There are curfews and sign in and sign out protocols, they are in locations that are isolated and far from community, and the low level of asylum support means that transport is very restricted."
The report is based on data from hundreds of cases at Refugee Action's Asylum Crisis services in Greater Manchester, London, and the West Midlands. It also draws on an in-depth survey of 100 asylum seekers living in hotels in London, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and Bradford.
Refugee Action's survey found:
- 51% of people surveyed reported problems with overcrowding and lack of privacy, which are major contributing factors to mental health issues.
- 25% of people surveyed reported restrictions on freedom of movement and 20% reported other restrictions.
- 36% reported a lack of basic facilities, such as a lack of beds or heating.
- 25% of people reported the presence of mould in rooms and 19% reported rubbish and unsanitary conditions where they were living.
- 75% reported low quality and inappropriate food.
- 90% of people with children reported that the accommodation was unsuitable for children and 61% reported safe guarding issues regarding their children.
- 57% of people reported health issues and 71% of reported a deterioration in their mental health.
Other concerning findings in the report include disabled people being held for long periods in unsuitable accommodation, effectively trapped in their rooms with no access to medical services and treatment, and 30% of families reporting that children were unable to access education.
Asylum seekers, including those with children, face long stays in temporary and contingency accommodation. Refugee Action noted: "[O]f the 39 single adults, couples and families with adult dependents surveyed, over half (54%) were held over 6 months, 33% had been held for over a year, and 8% had been held for over 15 months. Families with children are supposed to be prioritised for dispersal to longer-term housing, but of the 62 families with children surveyed, 95% were held for over 6 weeks … 58% were held for over 6 months, over a quarter (27%) had been held for over a year and 8% of families with children were living in confined spaces for over 15 months."
The report also adds that people face waiting for months and years with no information about their asylum application and no access to legal representation.
Asylum seekers who complain about conditions can find themselves being threatened or punished. 22% of survey respondents said they experienced inappropriate or disproportionate behaviour by staff.
Refugee Action said: "Staff enact penalties which are arbitrary and not governed by any formal process. For example, residents who have been seen as 'complaining' about food were effectively confined to their room as punishment. People have been subject to unannounced random room searches. One person experienced the housing provider coming in, without permission, and going through her room. Her belongings were then confiscated, including her insulin which could have had life threatening consequences. She was not allowed to go back into her room and was homeless for the following week. Her belongings have since been returned but she has received no explanation to why this happened."
The report quotes one asylum seeker as saying hotel staff threatened that the Home Office would move people to Rwanda if they complained.
12% of people in asylum accommodation reported experiencing racism, and Refugee Action warned that the use of language such as 'illegal migrants' to describe asylum seekers emboldens and encourages racist groups. There has been a large increase in attacks on hotels and accommodation centres, the report notes.
The report also highlights how asylum accommodation in the UK is provided by private companies making huge profits.
"Instead of providing housing through local authorities or housing associations, the Home Office has outsourced accommodation provision to private providers who operate on a profit-based model. Since 2019 these contracts have been held by three companies – Mears, Serco and Clearsprings Ready Homes. Although they carry out immigration functions and therefore have statutory responsibilities, private providers aim to generate profit. […] There is little to no accountability for the private providers, who have been the subject of numerous complaints yet continue to be awarded contracts worth billions," Refugee Action said.
The report finds that the problems with the asylum accommodation system only look set to worsen, especially with the new Illegal Migration Bill.
Refugee Action commented: "Government policy and legislation are set to compound these problems in the future. The Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which deems people seeking asylums' claims as 'inadmissible' means that they will spend more time in detention – 6 months or more – before they can be 'admitted' into the UK's asylum system, whereupon they may have to wait months or years for their claim to be processed. The Government's 2023 bill which aims to subject people seeking asylum who are forced to cross the channel to detention and deportation will also necessitate a massive increase in indefinite detention. The Home Office has also removed limits on how long people can be detained in camps, and recent changes to accommodation policy have also included a significant weakening of protections for adults at risk, who will no longer be assessed in places like Manston."
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit said on Twitter: "This report, partly based on research in Greater Manchester, resonates with what we are seeing. The facilities people are accommodated in are closer to detention than to a home. People are confined long-term with no autonomy and often in dehumanising, undignified conditions."
In response to the report, the Home Office told the Guardian, however: "We do not recognise the claims in the report suggesting hospitalisations, threats of deportation or restriction of movements, but where concerns are raised about any aspect of the service delivered by the hotel we work with the provider to ensure they are addressed in a timely manner."