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The British newspaper “The Independent” said that many asylum seekers in the United Kingdom “are placed in inadequate housing where they run the risk of being attacked by people belonging to the extreme right”, because companies cooperating with the Ministry of The Interior, which is tasked with providing accommodation for refugees, ignored warnings from local authorities.
The Interior Ministry launched a process in February to speed up the transfer of 9,000 asylum seekers who were staying in hotels during the pandemic to long-term accommodation.
The newspaper says there are currently more than 6,000 asylum seekers staying in London hotels, and that more than two-thirds of these, or around 4,400 people, will be distributed to different parts of the UK next summer.
Thousands of asylum seekers are being relocated to areas that have already exceeded the “recommended ratio of one asylum seeker for every 200 local residents”.
Home Minister Priti Patel said the ministry “works closely with councils in dispersed areas (British local councils that provide refuge for asylum seekers on a voluntary basis) and takes their views into account.”
But Yorkshire and West Midlands councilors told the newspaper that “companies that deal with the Home Office and are responsible for finding and managing places of residence for refugees in their areas have not dealt with them and ignore their concerns.”
John Grayson of the Yorkshire Council said the “mass transit” of asylum seekers from hotels to their areas where there were large numbers of refugees was “a disaster and would put many at risk”.
In Yorkshire and the Humber, the Home Office entered into a contract to secure housing for asylum seekers with the private housing company Mers.
“It is appalling that the Home Office has allowed Mers to ignore directives from local authorities on this matter,” Grayson said of the ministry’s contract with Mers. “These directives do not only refer to the crowded refugee areas, but to questions such as whether asylum seekers would be at risk there, due to the activities and activism of the extreme right.” Criminal. “
He added: “I fear for the safety of the refugees. A few weeks ago I supported a family in Barnsley, which was located in an area known for far-right activities. The mother was being harassed on the street and the children were being bullied. at school “.
The Independent has learned that between 2,100 and 2,500 asylum seekers will be transferred from hotels in London and other cities to properties in Yorkshire and the Humber, an area that already has a large refugee population.
In a letter to the Home Affairs Committee, the Home Office said 11 refugee relocation areas would be added in the south and east of England.
Members of local councils and charities say that “companies that contract with the Interior Ministry continue to operate in areas with cheaper housing, despite concerns about the safety of asylum seekers in these areas.”
A Home Office spokesman said the ministry was working to ensure that asylum seekers were distributed “evenly” across the UK.
On the other hand, seven West Midlands councilors wrote a letter to the Home Secretary this week, informing her that they have decided to suspend participation in the refugee distribution scheme, because it violates the Serco company that runs the Home Office. the recommended ratio between the number of asylum seekers and the local population “.
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