Extracts from Westminster Hall debate on Asylum
Accommodation
(Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab)
...In another example, a mother and baby were forced to stay in
the same accommodation, even though the child had been bitten by
bed bugs. This is another example:
“I was not allowed to live in the same accommodation as my
heavily pregnant wife and was put into a house more than 3 miles
away from her when I first arrived. Despite repeatedly asking to
be moved to a house together as the situation was affecting her
health, we were not given our own house until the baby was 3
months old.”
Somebody else said:
“it eventually took 5 months for someone to come out and fix the
cooker. The G4S officer said we should ‘just eat salad’ in the
meantime.”
...The Committee also made recommendations on making sure that
asylum seekers know how to complain if there are problems and are
not prevented from complaining about the quality of accommodation
by the fear that it will affect their asylum case, and also on
sharing rooms. Serco and Clearsprings do not allow the sharing of
rooms, but G4S continues to do so. That is a serious problem.
Will the Minister reassure us that, as part of any new contracts,
that will not happen?
(Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)
...I seriously question why the Home Office has granted contracts
to companies that have very dubious records in other contracts
they hold. Only recently, staff of the security firm G4S were
found to be abusing detainees at Brook House. The conduct of the
staff was disgraceful, but so was the lack of Home Office
oversight. What assurance will the Minister give that companies
with such terrible records will not continue to be granted asylum
accommodation contracts? Will he confirm that when we find
appalling practice, we can terminate the contract? Will the
Minister agree that councils are much better placed to manage the
service? They already manage integration and other public
services that asylum seekers would be accessing.
To read the full proceedings, CLICK
HERE
