“I feel like I am not welcomed here and UK asylum policies have successfully stripped away my sense of belonging. I am worried about plans for detaining people in unsafe environments for long periods of time and the impact this will have on us.” - asylum seeker in Home Office accommodation

The Government’s plans to accommodate refugees and asylum seekers in unsuitable and potentially dangerous accommodation is putting their lives at risk, and they face being retraumatised.

The Immigration Minister has stated that accommodation should meet basic requirements but “nothing more” in order to dissuade people arriving in the UK. Proposed sites are not appropriate, nor solutions to hotels. These plans are a cruel way of singling out and othering people seeking safety, making them an even bigger target for hate. Isolating people seeking safety from the wider community will cause a detrimental impact to their physical and mental well-being, and sense of belonging.

Sites such as barges have been described as oppressive environments. People living in Home Office accommodation are already reporting feelings of isolation and they are concerned that accommodating them on barges and disused military sites will further isolate them from the community with restricted access to basic provisions, advice and support.

Barges, military bases and other proposed accommodation will not meet the standards set out in the Home Office’s own accommodation requirements. Previously, when barges have been used as accommodation in the Netherlands, there was a massive health and safety breach where raw sewage leaked into their drinking water supplies. The Typhoid outbreak infected 72 people who needed immediate treatment.

We urge the Government to abandon its proposals for these inappropriate sites for accommodation and instead commit to work closely with local authorities and supporting organisations to create local solutions with the proper resources.

Everyone deserves to be part of a community: the Government must support people seeking sanctuary and enable them to set down roots in their new communities.

Proposed sites include:

Northeye Residential and Training Establishment in Bexhill
Ministry of Defence Wethersfield in Braintree, Essex
RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire
Bibby Stockholm Vessel in Portland Port

Sign this petition to demand the Government cease its plans to accommodate asylum seekers and refugees in inappropriate accommodation.

For more information, check out Asylum Matters’ Communities Not Camps campaign. 

References

Asylum seekers will get the most basic housing possible, says Robert Jenrick 

According to the Asylum Accommodation and Support Statement of Requirements (Schedule 2), General Accommodation requirements state that:

2.1.1 The Provider shall provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped Accommodation in areas agreed with the Authority, including appropriate related services for those Service users