Hotels have raised concerns since they are designed for temporary accommodation yet asylum seekers have been remaining in them for prolonged lengths of time.
The hotels lack essential services that help asylum seekers feel comfortable and allow them to integrate into local communities. For example, the rooms lack proper cooking faculties and are located away from essential medical services and English language classes. Furthermore, COVID-19 restrictions have a negative impact on people’s mental health, with asylum seekers not being able to leave their rooms sometimes for days on end.
This is not the first time the Home Office has failed to monitor the accommodation provided to asylum seekers. In a previous blog entitled “Provision of accommodation to destitute asylum seekers: High Court find serious faults in the system”, we noted that the Home Office systematically failed to monitor the asylum seeker accommodation contracts and, as a result, allowed vulnerable people to be left without accommodation or with wholly unsuitable accommodation for prolonged periods of time.
In the event that you require any information in respect of asylum issues please do not hesitate to contact us or the Gherson human rights team for advice on your individual circumstances. Alternatively follow us on Twitter to stay up to date.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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