Home Office plans to increase asylum beds at Havering hotel

The government has been criticised over plans to expand the number of beds at a Havering hotel for asylum seekers.

The Recorder has seen a Home Office letter in which an official says it plans to increase the amount of beds earmarked for asylum accommodation.

The Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL), a charity which supports vulnerable migrants, blamed the Home Office for creating a backlog of asylum seekers, which it says forced them to use hotels.

Rudy Schulkind, advocacy officer at RAMFEL, also hit out at Andrew Rosindell, the Conservative MP for Romford.

Mr Rosindell urged the government to abandon its plans to provide the extra bedspaces in Havering and said more needed to be done to tackle the root causes of “illegal migration”.

Mr Schulkind said: “He’s making the claim on whether or not these people are illegal asylum seekers without having any knowledge of the facts or their cases.

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“Asylum seekers have been used as a political football for decades in this country,” he added. “That kind of fearmongering goes right to the very top.”

Mr Rosindell said in response: “We cannot simply pretend that the current system is working.

Romford MP Andrew Rosindell (Image: Andrew Rosindell)

“The fundamental objective of Brexit was to reaffirm our national sovereignty; nevertheless, we find ourselves unable to exercise control over our borders without facing baseless accusations of fearmongering,” he said.

A Home Office spokesperson said that asylum seekers are given full accommodation, three meals a day and essentials such as cash payments for those eligible.

“Asylum seekers are not detained at hotels and are free to leave their accommodation,” they added.

But Mr Schulkind claimed scores rarely leave their accommodation due to a lack of income.

“They’re living in overcrowded hotels, in many cases not able to eat the food because it is such poor quality.

“They’re just waiting, the only thing they have to do is wait because the government stops them from working.”

Mr Rosindell urged the government to push ahead with offshore processing facilities, which he feels would provide “a safe and humane environment” in another country for migrants to make their claims.

Mr Schulkind said this plan could not be any less humane but agreed that it was unsustainable to house migrants in hotels.

“We agree that people should not be living in contingency accommodation, but people should be allowed to work and pay their taxes so they’re not reliant on the state.”