Written evidence submitted by Anonymous (AAC0042)
Observations on Asylum Accommodation
I am a direct aid volunteer with a refugee charity, having direct contact with asylum seekers in Home Office (HO) accommodation and hope that my contribution to this enquiry can help create a more streamlined and humane asylum system.
Housing Providers
This is patchy. Some managers are excellent and work collaboratively with stakeholders, where this happens outcomes for asylum seekers are noticeably better as they can receive adequate support and information.
However, there has been a resistance to sharing information with local NGO’s, even in cases where safety could be at risk..
Staff in asylum hotels sometimes appear to be ill prepared for their roles, with little understanding of the asylum process and inadequate training to provide trauma informed support. This has improved over the time that hotels have been in use and where housing providers show care and respect for their residents the atmosphere is calmer and mental health outcomes are better.
Housing officers for dispersal properties seem elusive and in some cases appear unsympathetic to the people for whose welfare they are responsible.
Food in many hotels remains poor, with meals being delivered in plastic containers and microwaved onsite. There is little choice and this causes health problems for those with restricted diets. There is a shortage of drinks and fresh vegetables reported in most asylum hotels. Many asylum seekers report going to bed hungry. Where food is cooked onsite it is of notably better quality, portion sizes are more suitable and mental health outcomes better.
Communal/ Leisure space is limited/ non existent in many asylum hotels. This is particularly challenging for families with children, and those who share rooms with strangers.
Dispersal Accommodation:
Procurement of accommodation tends to focus heavily in certain areas, the impact of which places a heavy burden on local administration, health services, education and NGOs.
This is particularly onerous as people gain leave to remain and move on from Home Office accommodation to private sector. A rise in presentation of homeless refugees has been marked in some areas and I fear we will see another peak in homeless refugees in spring 2025.
Rooms in dispersal properties are turned over rapidly, this frequently means that people dispersed from hotels or army barracks have only a few weeks in their new location before becoming homeless. They have not had time to build support networks or engage with local services.
A process of engagement with local services as people are moved into a new area would provide better safeguarding outcomes for individuals and local communities.
Notification and Continuity of Care
Local Authorities, health services and other agencies are not notified of people being moved into dispersal housing, nor any issues they may be facing issues. This can leave vulnerable asylum seekers, many of whom have complex needs, not knowing where to turn for help. There is little continuity of care, as people are moved from one Home Office accommodation to another.
Examples include people known to have severe mental health issues, who HO and housing providers considered could be a danger to themselves or others, being moved to a new area and given no support to register with a GP or mental health teams.
Housing providers ‘signpost’ to local services, in many instances this is cursory and inadequate. In one instance the extent of this signposting was that the newly arrived asylum seeker found the number of a GP surgery on a piece of paper on top of a kitchen cupboard.
Asylum housing offers no wifi which makes actions like GP registration and communication very difficult.
Communication in Dispersal
Asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation often have no phones, no SIM cards and no contact numbers for their housing officers. They can report issues via Migrant Help, but this is a slow process, especially over the weekend. Problems with plumbing, heating, bed bugs, and emergency cash payments (for those not in receipt of asylum support) can take 5 working days for feedback to reach the local housing officer.
There is little information forthcoming from the Home Office or their commissioned representatives. Though they are generally collaborative should Local Authority, statutory agencies and NGO’s seek them out. Communication facilitated by the Strategic Migration Partnerships is of great benefit.
At times it seems there is confusion over lines of communication, accountability and there are gaps between process and actions.
Hotel Opening
Procurement of hotels as temporary accommodation happens with little or no notice to local authorities, health colleagues and charities, who are left scrambling to meet immediate needs of vulnerable people.
Provision of clothing, toiletries, access to over counter medication, access to education, transport, communication and exercise are not adequately catered for. Charities bear the burden of this and a sudden stand up of a hotel causes significant work, expense and mobilisation of volunteer bases.
The length of accommodation contracts is often unclear, as is the rate of turnover and backfilling.
This makes strategic planning very difficult and introduces significant barriers to integration for asylum seekers and refugees for whom adequate support systems are not in place.
Asylum Support Payments
The very low level of asylum support leaves asylum seekers living in destitution.
Delays to asylum support payments are commonplace, frequently there is a wait of 10-12 weeks.
Example: In one asylum hotel c250 people arrived in November 2024, as of 31 January 2025 a significant number (an estimate of 45%) are still waiting for their grant of section 95 support and their asylum support payments to begin.
Asylum accommodation does not provide access to internet enabled devices nor to wifi in dispersal, leaving residents isolated and unable to access basic services or reply to correspondence. A communal computer in hotels and wifi in dispersal housing would make a huge difference to improving access to healthcare and other services.
Provision of toiletries in hotels is basic – and does not include items such as deodorant or hand soap.
Refugee charities are relied upon to support with emergency clothing, funding over counter medication, transport, toiletries, communication (sim cards and phones), education, sports and leisure opportunities. Food banks are relied upon for food.
Destitution among vulnerable cohorts increases the risks of exploitation, abuse and targeting by criminal gangs. A review of asylum support levels ought to bring payments up to a realistic level; provision of bus passes would allow for better integration and access to essential services, as well as offering significant savings on taxi bills for medical appointments.
Transfers from one HO accommodation to another
Asylum seekers are often given little to no warning of a transfer.
They often are not told where they will be moved to until the taxi arrives on the morning of their move.
They rarely received any notification in writing of a move.
Letters advising people of moves to sites such as Napier barracks do not include the asylum seeker’s name or other identifying details.
The above all have an impact on people’s ability to plan, integrate and access essential services, as well as on their continuity of care. Lack of notice and unpredictability of transfers introduces significant barriers to integration. People tell me they are made to feel “less than human” and are “treated like cattle.”
HO records are not centrally updated with people’s new HO addresses, meaning that important correspondence goes astray, often causing significant inconvenience.
Example : One man has lived in 7 different asylum hotels due to a hotel closures and is still waiting for the outcome of his case some 18 months after his substantive interview. He has engaged with his MP in most sites but has been unlucky enough to be moved before his MP was able to make enquiries. He has had little opportunity to engage with local communities nor access education or support from an OISC (IAA) advisor.
Local services, schools and GP surgeries get no notice that their registered users have been moved.
Healthcare is interrupted and long term health outcomes will be adversely affected by patients being moved with little continuity of care.
Having waited 6 months to access education asylum seekers may be moved midway through a course, leaving education providers out of pocket and making strategic planning and budgeting impossible.
Lack of notice of transfers and frequent accommodation changes have an adverse effect on children.
Examples:
1: During 2024 there were numerous occasions when a taxi turned up at an asylum hotel and told families they were moving that day. No prior notification had been issued and in some cases the children had to leave their school day to move to a new place, in other instances they had no chance to say goodbye to their teachers and school friends.
2: In a recent case a group of people were advised they would be transferred from their hotel the following day. They were not advised in writing, nor were the housing officers able to tell them where they would be going or at what time. It transpired their move was to Napier barracks. Lack of adherence to process and selection criteria put vulnerable people at risk.
3: In another instance a vulnerable teenager was advised he would be moved from one city to another as his HO accommodation had been sold by the landlord. He was ready at 08.00 as instructed, transport had not arrived by midday so he phoned Migrant Help, who advised him to wait and that transport could come anytime up to 11pm. Five weeks later and after many phone calls to Migrant Help the man is still waiting to hear when he will actually be moved.
Further disruption caused by frequent and short notice moves
Asylum seekers cannot work, but they can volunteer and many charities and community groups rely on their assistance.
Example: Recently a group of asylum seekers were transferred from their hotel with only 3 days notice. They were volunteers in a night shelter for the homeless and the lack of notice meant that their shifts were not able to be covered.
Information flow from HO or contracted accommodation providers to local authorities is poor.
Over the past 24 months government policy has sought to expedite decisions, alter termination of asylum support periods, switch from physical ID to e-visas seemingly with little strategic planning.
Local Authorities, particularly housing and homelessness departments, have been placed under pressure by rapid and unexpected changes to policy. As have voluntary sector organisations. The policies negatively impacted both the individuals involved and the wider communities.
Many local authorities are unaware of refugees with newly granted status until they present at their offices on the day of their eviction from HO accommodation.
Information supplied to new refugees on how to find private accommodation, how to enter the job market and support for young refugees to enter education of training is severely lacking. This results in homelessness, destitution and threatens to leave a tranche of young people with poor career prospects.
The introduction of e-visas has caused problems for new refugees as banks and other institutions do not yet have processes in place to deal with non-physical ID, this is exacerbated by digital poverty among this cohort, who lack the internet enabled devices, lack funds to buy data and often lack digital and language skills to navigate online forms.
Whilst HO guidance has adapted rapidly in 2025 as problems become apparent there remains a disconnect between the proof of address and ID required by the banking sector and the evidence of immigration status and address provide by the HO.
Ways to correspond with the Home Office are often opaque. Asylum seekers contact the Home Office via Migrant Help (MH) but there are significant areas in which MH do not offer assistance beyond sharing a link. HO letters frequently omit an email address to accept replies or queries.
Feb 2025