A Labour MP has accused the Home Office of ejecting refugees from their temporary hotel accommodations with merely a week’s notice.
Stella Creasy said there is “no assistance” being provided to these people, leading them to resort to local homeless shelters.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick rejected her claims, saying the Home Office’s policy is to give 28 days’ notice, and highlighted that once granted asylum, refugees have access to benefits and employment opportunities.
“Everybody who is granted asylum has access to the benefit system and can get a job,” he told MPs.
Hotels cut by 50
The exchange took place after Mr Jenrick announced in the Commons that the number of hotels used to house migrants will be cut by 50 over the next three months.
After putting her question to Mr Jenrick, Ms Creasy posted a picture on X of a letter by the Home Office’s contractor Clearsprings Ready Homes, addressed to a refugee housed in her constituency.
It reads: “We have been advised by UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) that your support is being terminated and therefore Ready Homes is issuing you with a formal notice to permanently vacate the Premises by 27/10/2023.”
The letter is dated October 19.
The Walthamstow MP also wrote on X: “Minister challenged me to show receipts on the record. Here you go.”
Private rental market
In the Commons, Ms Creasy had earlier said: “I just wonder what experience the minister has of the London private rental market, because in my constituency, refugees who have been granted asylum are being kicked out of their hotels by the Home Office contractor within a week, which gives very….
“I got the letter, the minister is shaking his head, I’m happy to share with him the letter that shows that.
“There is no assistance being provided to these people. They’re told to go back to the council, the council doesn’t have time to follow up with them. So they are ending up at our local homeless night shelter, which is actually going to end up costing us all more than it would to have an orderly system in place.”
She asked how many refugees who have been granted asylum from the hotels have “actually been rehoused” and whether he “might look at a more orderly system”.
“Clear the backlog”
Mr Jenrick replied: “First, she wanted us to clear the backlog. Now, she doesn’t want us to clear the backlog because of the consequences of clearing the backlog. Perhaps, it would be better if she just supported us in trying to stop illegal migrants coming to the country in the first place.
“On the specific points that she makes, it’s not correct that the Home Office gives seven days notice. In fact, it gives 28 days’ notice.
“I’m happy to look at what she’s waving in my face, but I can assure you that the policy is 28 days.
“But the key point to make here is that everybody who is granted asylum has access to the benefit system and can get a job, and given that the overwhelming majority of them are young men, that’s exactly what they should do now, get on, contribute to British society and integrate into our country.”
Raising a point of order after the statement, shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock asked Mr Jenrick if he wanted to correct the record, saying: “It is in fact the case that the immigration guidelines were changed in August 2023 to enable the eviction within seven days, changing from 28 days.
“And she (Stella Creasy) has got the letter from Clearsprings to the person that she’s representing, which confirms a seven-day deadline for that to take place.
“So I just wondered whether the minister might want to just correct the record based on the exchange he had with my honourable friend earlier?”
“I’m afraid she’s mistaken”
The immigration minister said: “From the information that’s been made available to me, I suspect that she is mistaken. There’s a two-fold process here. Upon granting an individual their asylum claim, they are then notified that they have 28 days plus two days for postage to vacate their property.
“When they come to seven days to the end of that 28-day period, we then in accordance with the law, serve them with a notice to quit.
“So I’m afraid she’s mistaken.”