MP says hotel removed homeless for asylum seekers

A Conservative MP says homeless people were removed from a hotel in a town to make way for 34 asylum seekers.

The unnamed hotel, in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, is being used as a temporary base while the asylum seekers' claims are processed.

But the town's MP Ben Bradley said the hotel was not the "right place" for them and homeless people staying there had been "turfed out".

Serco, which has been assisting the Home Office in housing asylum seekers, has denied the claim.

A number of hotels are being used across the country as the Home Office deals with increasing pressure on the asylum system.

Mr Bradley, who also leads Nottinghamshire County Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he found the situation in Mansfield "incredibly frustrating".

"They have turfed out residents who were already in there for temporary accommodation and who have presented themselves as homeless," he said.

"It's not on, to be honest. There's a bigger picture here, which is tackling the issue and stopping people from coming.

"But when it comes to communication, they've picked an area of town that's not the right area and is not the right provision.

"They've not told us about it, they've not told us what services we need to put around it, and they've made people homeless in Mansfield as a result.

"It's not being very well-managed by Serco."

Serco said it did not comment on specific sites but added it "did not remove existing residents from the hotel".

Jenni Halliday, contract director for asylum accommodation services, said: "These hotels are only used as a last resort.

"The Serco team is working extremely hard to move people into dispersed social housing as rapidly as possible."

Mansfield District Council said it received a request from the Home Office to use the hotel on Sunday.

A spokesperson said: "As part of our statutory duty, we will work as a part of a multi-agency response to ensure those dispersed from their home countries are supported at this time and fulfil our duty to help those who are successful in being resettled in the UK.

"We will continue to ensure that services are made available to all vulnerable members of our community when they are needed."

The Home Office has been approached for comment.