Skegness MP to look into getting an injunction to stop more hotels being used as accommodation for asylum seekers
The Skegness and Boston MP is looking into the possibility of getting an injunction for the area to stop any more hotels being used for asylum seekers
After a meeting to discuss asylum seekers in Skegness the local MP is looking at the process to get an injunction for the area- that would mean no additional hotels being used as accommodation for asylum seekers. This would not mean the hotels already being used will be stopped, but that more hotels can't be used
Skegness and**** Boston MP, Matt Warman is looking into an injunction for the area after a meeting discussed the negative impact the use of hotels as accommodation for asylum seekers may have on the economy and tourism.
The topic was discussed during a council meeting last week, where Councillor Craig Leyland says other places have already put in applications:
“Many councils in coastal wards are concerned about the emergency housing of asylum seekers in hotels.
“East Lindsey officers are in direct contact with the Home Office to ensure they understand the impact, and encourage a more sustainable approach.
“We are also considering whether to take an injunction to stop hotels being used, and are taking advice from barristers at this moment. We are watching other cases which are out there – most notably Great Yarmouth. Their injunction will be judged by December 20.”
A heated public meeting attended by hundreds of people earlier this month heard concerns that Skegness’ tourism industry could be permanently damaged by the use of hotels.
MP Matt Warman has been keen to highlight this in Parliament. But he says it's vital to do something for Skegness:
"What I said at the at the public meeting in Skegness and elsewhere, is that we should be exploring every possible legal avenue to try and make sure that hotels, which are the wrong place for asylum seekers and the wrong place for the people of Skegness to see asylum seekers being housed. I think that shouldn't be something that we should leave any stone on unturned with, and the legal route is one of them, and it hasn't thus far worked. This temporary injunction obtained, in Great Yarmouth is gonna get tested properly towards the end of this month, so time will tell, but I've already talked to the Council. Both the District Council and the County Council, about what we could do if we were faced with another hotel being proposed for this sort of use."
Matt Warman continued to detail the next steps he would take:
"What we've got to do is watch what that outcome is, use a similar method if it works and obviously look for others if it doesn't. It is the case so far that all legal options haven't succeeded, so we've got to, as I say, watch this case closely, and I think hope that it does, because obviously the situation in Yarmouth is very similar to that in Skegness."
Five hotels in Skegness are currently being used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers, with another one in Boston.
Another topic discussed was the economy...
An asylum seekers weekly allowance for toiletries, food and clothing works out at £5.84 per day.
It's estimated, by The Lift the Ban campaign, that £300 million is lost every year by preventing asylum seekers from finding jobs.
The ban on asylum seekers in the UK working for at least a year is harming Skegness’s economy, a councillor says.
Around 200 migrants are currently being housed in the town while they wait for their applications to be processed.
Councillor Rosalind Jackson (Labour) urged that they are allowed to work and contribute to the local economy during this time.
She told a full council meeting that many have skills which are in short supply in East Lindsey, and the “dehumanising” policy should be scrapped:
“Asylum seekers are only allowed to apply to work after they have been waiting for a decision for a year, and only then for jobs which are on the shortest occupation list,” Councillor Jackson said.
“Skegness residents are concerned they aren’t spending money and supporting the local economy. Of course they’re not if they only have £5 a day to live on.
“45% of asylum seekers were critical workers in their home countries, and one in seven worked in health or social care.
“These skills are really essential to this district. People are always telling me how they can’t get healthcare or other important work.
“The problem seems to have an obvious solution if we treat people like human beings. In Canada and lots of other European countries, there is a far shorter wait for asylum seekers to go to work.”
She asked whether the council agreed that “this dehumanising policy harms our local economy and integration”.
There's around 200 migrants currently being housed in the town, while they wait for their applications to be processed.