Mark Whitehead 22 June 2023

Manchester leaders call for urgent action on asylum seeker hotels

Manchester leaders call for urgent action on asylum seeker hotels image
Image: Dragon Claws/Shutterstock

Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, his deputy Kate Green and 10 council leaders are calling for urgent action to house asylum seekers and refugees who have been given notice to move out of hotels.

Four of the hotels are in the Greater Manchester region and residents have started receiving 90-day notices to leave.

Demands in a letter to home secretary Suella Braverman and levelling up secretary Michael Gove include a call for the notice period to be extended and a funding package for local authorities that can be spent flexibly across homelessness, language teaching, schools and integration and employment support.

They say: 'We are proud to welcome people seeking asylum and refugees to our city region, to celebrate all of our diverse communities and to work together to ensure that they can thrive.

'In Greater Manchester, we will continue to do so and we condemn recent divisive rhetoric which misrepresents international obligations to people seeking asylum and mischaracterises people seeking sanctuary on our shores because of how they arrive.'

The Government says it is committed to speeding up asylum processing, offering protection to those who need it and reducing costs to the public purse.

A spokesman said: 'We want to help rebuild lives here in the UK while ensuring local councils are supported to deliver different housing needs for people in the areas that they call home.

'That is why we are giving councils across Greater Manchester more than £23m over the next two years to prevent homelessness - this can be used to work with landlords to provide temporary accommodation or find new housing.'

Skills Pipelines: What local government needs to know image

Skills Pipelines: What local government needs to know

Councils and mayors are to be handed a central role in developing skills pipelines for local industries, as the Government unveils what it calls a ‘fundamental change’ to the education system aimed at tackling youth unemployment. Here's what council leaders and officers need to know.
SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Service Manager - Care Leavers

Cheshire East Council
£54,994 per annum - £62,777 per annum
We're looking for an experienced and passionate Service Manager to join Cheshire East Council. Location TBC
Recuriter: Cheshire East Council

SEND Plan Writer

Cheshire East Council
£31,537 - £34,434
We're looking for a dedicated SEND Plan Writer to join Cheshire East. Macclesfield, Cheshire
Recuriter: Cheshire East Council

Independent Reviewing Officer

Cheshire East Council
£42,072 - £54,994
Make a difference for children in care Macclesfield, Cheshire
Recuriter: Cheshire East Council

Occupational Therapy Lead

Gloucestershire County Council
£48,226 - £51,356 per annum
Are you passionate about supporting adults to live independently and achieve what matters most to them? Gloucestershire
Recuriter: Gloucestershire County Council

Adult Education Director

City Of Doncaster Council
DR1 £45,564 to DR8 £52,209
We are seeking an experienced and inspirational Further Education leader Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Recuriter: City Of Doncaster Council
Linkedin Banner