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.'

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Social Worker - Assessment & Intervention, Mid Essex

Essex County Council
£36124.00 - £51834.00 per annum
Social Worker - Assessment & Intervention, Mid EssexPermanent, Full Time£36,124 to £51,834 per annum Location
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Information Management and Data Services Officer

Durham County Council
Grade 9 £35,412 - £39,152
Do you have what it takes to develop innovative data products to help drive improvements? This is an exciting time to join Durham’s Children and Youn Spennymoor
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Social Worker

Durham County Council
Grade 9 (Pre-Progression) £35,412 - £39,152 / Grade 11 (Post-Progression) £40,777- £45,091 - Pay Award Pending
We are seeking a dedicated and enthusiastic social worker to play a key role within the Social Care Direct team, which serves as the vital ‘front of h Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Partnership Support Officer

Durham County Council
Grade 9 £35,412 - £39,152
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Partnership Support Officer to join our Partnerships and Consultation Team. You will provide support to the Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Project Support Officer

Durham County Council
Grade 8 £32,597 - £36,363 p.a Pay Award Pending
We are looking for a highly motivated and organised individual to join our Digital Programme & Communities Team as Project Support Officers. The role Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner