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

Transport and Major Work Manager

Slough Borough Council
£54,556 to £60,085 per year Inclusive of Local Weighting Allowance of £1096
Drive the future of transport and infrastructure in Slough Slough, Berkshire
Recuriter: Slough Borough Council

Head of Property & Regeneration

Swansea Council
£88,633 - £100,994
We are seeking to appoint an outstanding and experienced professional Swansea (Abertawe)
Recuriter: Swansea Council

Social Worker - Link Family Worker, North Essex

Essex County Council
£36124.0000 - £51834.0000 per annum
Social Worker - Link Family Worker, North EssexPermanent, Full Time£36,124 to £51,834 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Health and Social Care Trainer - North Essex

Essex County Council
£38466.0000 - £45254.0000 per annum
Health and Social Care Trainer - North EssexPermanent, Part Time£29,468 to £34,668 per annum (full time equivalent) Location
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Housing Service Officer

Kirklees Metropolitan Council
£26,403 - £28,142
Our employees are at the very heart of the services we provide to the community Kirklees, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Kirklees Metropolitan Council
Linkedin Banner