How are we paying to house asylum seekers

[Asylumhotels]

I saw on the news that the UK is spending several million pounds every day to house asylum seekers in hotels. How are we affording this? Surely we can't carry this on, are there any alternatives?

Sorry if this is incorrect, I only know what I've seen on the news so any further info is welcome

Trying to catch up on the thread

It's a popular wedding venue, I've been to 2 there and stayed the night

I haven't had chance to catch up yet but I'd like to point out a few things.

1. this is not a thread to bash AS, if you read the OP I'm asking about the cost and the use of hotels and if this is the best way

2. why do people expect everyone to be an expert on everything. I'm being ridiculed just for not knowing things. Well I asked the questions didn't I? At least I'm trying to gain an understanding.

@Squirespot
@Sorefootouch

There are references to this in the Guardian and Reuters too.

So depressing to read some of the comments on here. The Government's policy of divide and rule seems to be working. Braverman's reaction to this child survivor of the Holocaust is shocking.

twitter.com/FreefromTorture/status/1614172335921303554

I can tell you now they are not living off £8 a week where I am. They have a healthier lifestyle than I do. In and out of coffee shops, in asda buying trolleys full of alcohol and the men chatting up the local women. I am sorry, but I will happily buy the poor homeless people lining the street near my university a food or coffee, despite living on a very, very low income myself. I'm not saying they ALL live like that, but near me they do.

Well then they're not asylum seekers are they. They're a group of blokes. Could be Uk citizens for all you know. Could be illegals. Could be from the same family or community. Could be a million other things but you keep straight to AS. Shame on you.

Parrottid that is what the Ibis normally charges per night, I know because I have stayed in it.

Watchfulwishes I didn't specifically mean Pontins, many holiday camps are empty from October to March, why not use them instead of taking over hotels, I saw one lady who had her wedding cancelled as the hotel had been taken over to house asylum seekers.

You could also google to find some information from a reputable source. The link I posted immediately after your OP shows the Gov spends 0.004% on AS. You could have posted for a debate from a position of knowledge rather than start with your right wing rant.

I can tell you now they are not living off £8 a week where I am. They have a healthier lifestyle than I do. In and out of coffee shops, in asda buying trolleys full of alcohol and the men chatting up the local women.
How do you know these people are asylum seekers?
Are you expressing outrage that some people with brown skin have more money than you?

I mean living it up in the Asda coffee shop how very dare they! 😮

And there it is at last!

No you don't NEED to open your home - but if you're so bothered why don't you?

As long as it's not on your doorstep eh?

No. So much no.

That is what Ibis would charge if they were operating to hotel guest markets. But that’s not the way this works. The government/council comes to them and says “we will book your hotel solid for the next three years or so” and because it’s guaranteed bookings, reduced housekeeping and overheads, the hotel, chain outgoings drop massively, and so they can then negotiate a rate which is attractive government.

I cannot believe that you thought that that is how it works, that the government will be paying full rack rate for these people, that is stunning naivety.

Genuine question; if civil society broke down here and you found yourself and your family in the same position as an asylum seeker, what would you do? What would you expect from the host country, assuming you had fled?

Presumably because it had changed the entire vibe of the hotel! What do you suggest??

The problem here is that Serco will have negotiated rooms at £16 a night, but Serco will be charging the government £160 a night.

And the boss of Serco will keep donating hundreds of thousands to the conservative party...

Presumably if you book a venue for your wedding and they cancel for whatever reason you get compensation. It’s a business they’re not going to turn down a huge booking to honour a Saturday afternoon booking.

The companies (Serco and Clearsprings) that manage hotels and accommodation for asylum seekers are making bumper profits, while communities and asylum seekers suffer. The government could be channeling the money it spends on hotels into local communities, but it doesn’t, presumably as they don’t get any kickbacks/“donations” that way.

“The Home Office is effectively passing billions of the Treasury’s monies for asylum accommodation to private bodies with no plan to grip this. Much of this money ends up as bumper profits and dividends for private companies, directors and shareholders.
“By definition this profit is not going where it should: into good social housing in communities, into local services so they may support refugees and local people. It is blindingly obvious that this is neither sustainable nor in the public interest. We need swift high-quality asylum decisions and public monies for public good into communities; not into private profit and dividends. The new PM [Rishi Sunak] needs to grip this as that is the solution.”

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/31/firm-managing-hotels-for-uk-asylum-seekers-posts-bumper-profits

Do the asylum seekers get put up in hotels in other countries they go through like France and Germany.

The problem here is that Serco will have negotiated rooms at £16 a night, but Serco will be charging the government £160 a night.

And the boss of Serco will keep donating hundreds of thousands to the conservative party..

Well yes - that's the scandal. Not the 0.004% of gross national income that AS cost.

@woodhill this might be helpful re Germany:

In general, 3 types of accommodation for asylum seekers can be distinguished:

1) Initial reception centres, including particular types of centres such as arrival centres, special reception centres and AnkER-centres;

2) Collective accommodation centres;

3) Decentralized accommodation.

More info about each type in the link.
asylumineurope.org/reports/country/germany/reception-conditions/housing/types-accommodation/

Probably also worth pointing out that asylum seekers in Germany receive more benefits per month than in the UK, and IIRC can also work, unlike in the UK.

Indeed. Don't forget the £74 BILLION that Kwasi Kwarteng's budget cost the country in a week, and the £100 BILLION that Brexshit continues to cost the country every year.

And these are the government's own figures, so the truth is probably far worse...

It's a disgrace. They have arrived via a safe country (France) so should be sent back.

I pay tax for schools and the NHS, sorry but there just isn't enough money to spend it on illegals.

I think you’ve got that back to front. Working in the black economy and “disappearing” is what people will risk doing if accommodation/benefits are unliveable.

Giving people the right to work (that means legitimate jobs) strengthens ties to the communities, means they’re paying income tax which supports the UK and reduces the amount of support they need from the state, and is the opposite of letting them “disappear into the black economy.”

PoloAllsort

" I pay tax for schools and the NHS, sorry but there just isn't enough money to spend it on illegals."

They are not "illegals"

THEYRE. OT FUCKING ILLEGALS!!!! IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL TO ENTER THE COUNTRY ON A RUBBER DINGHY AND CLAIM ASYLUM - ITS THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT.

Do you somehow think the UK should be exempt from accepting people seeking asylum? Why? What's so special about us compared to Turkey or Greece or Egypt?

They’re not “illegals”, that’s language being spread by the far right. (Not that I think you are, but it’s good to be aware of). It’s not illegal to come to the UK to claim asylum.

France take more asylum seekers than the UK, and there are valid reasons for some to come to the UK, for eg family connections or being the Afghan people abandoned in Afghanistan despite being promised refuge by the British government, who are still waiting over a year later.