Minister promises to 'properly engage' with council before placing more asylum seekers in West Northamptonshire hotels

A Government minister has promised to “properly engage” with West Northamptonshire Council after a county MP called on him to resign over accommodating asylum seekers in local hotels.

Police confirmed last month they were mounting extra patrols to reassure villagers after service providers Serco placed more than 160 migrants in a nearby Ibis property while their applications to stay in the UK were processed. Councillors confirmed two other hotels in the area are being used to house asylum seekers but admitted they had no say in the process of selecting locations.

Minister for Immigration Robert Jenrick admitted in the Commons on Wednesday (November 23) that a rush to move migrants out of a holding camp in Kent “led to the Home Office and our providers failing to properly engage with local authorities”. He added: “To bring Manston to a sustainable footing and meet our legal and statutory duties to asylum seekers who would otherwise have been left destitute, we have had to procure additional contingency accommodation at extreme pace.

“In some instances, however, that has led to the Home Office and our providers failing to properly engage with local authorities and Members of Parliament. I have been clear that that is completely unacceptable and that it must change.”

Manston asylum centre, the troubled Home Office site near Ramsgate where people arriving in the UK in small boats were taken for initial checks, is now empty. Just a few weeks ago about 4,000 arrivals were placed there by the Home Office, almost three times the maximum 1,600 capacity of the tented site.

Mr Jenrick new minimum requirements for that engagement will include emails to local authorities and MPs “not less than 24 hours before arrivals”, more support and an offer of meetings with the local authority as soon as possible prior to arrival. He added: “These new standards will lead to a modest improvement, but I am clear that much more needs to be done.”

Kettering MP Philip Hollobone said the minister should “consider his position”.

The Chron’s sister newspaper, Northamptonshire Telegraph, has reported how Mr Hollobone and North Northamptonshire Council have been at loggerheads with the Home Office over using a Kettering town centre hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.

During questions to the minister, Mr Hollobone said an online meeting on Friday had raised serious environmental health issues, including mould and no kitchen facilities at the historic Royal Hotel. He also said Northamptonshire Police raised serious concerns about community safety and vulnerability of the asylum seekers.

Mr Hollobone added: “The Home Office and Serco officials agreed that the hotel would not be used until those issues were properly addressed. Yesterday, the council was advised that 41 asylum seekers had been moved into the hotel on Sunday afternoon, without any notification at all, and that could rise to 80. No biometric of previous offending history data has been shared with the local police. It is totally, 100 percent unacceptable.”

Mr Jenrick replied: “I will be happy to make some inquiries and come back to my honourable friend.”