Proposed closure of Hastings Home Office hotel in 2024 to cause more trauma and upheaval
We have written the following letter to
Councillor Paul Barnett - Leader of Hastings Borough Council
Councillor Simon Willis - Member with Housing Portfolio
Chris Hancock - Head of Housing for Hastings Borough Council.
As you will be aware, it has been confirmed by the Home Office and their contractors that the hotel in Hastings which has been used to accommodate people seeking asylum since November 2022 will be closed by January 2024.
Whilst we are pleased, in principle, that the Home Office is closing this hotel, there are 3 significant issues now facing the men who have lived in this hotel for a year:
1. The residents of the hotel have been given notice that, if their claims for refuge in the UK are still in progress, they will be moved when the hotel is closed. They have not been told where they will be moved to, nor have they been given a choice on this move. It is likely, given what has happened to residents of other hotels across the country which have been closed recently, that they will be moved either to other hotels or to mass-accommodation sites such as Napier Barracks in Kent or the Bibby Barge in Portland.
2. The way the move is being managed is inhumane. The movement of these people who have lived in Hastings for up to 12 months and have been welcomed by the local community are being treated in such an inhumane way by the Home Office by being moved in this manner.
Most of the hotel residents are enrolled at Hastings College learning English, many of them attend the local Mosque and churches, and are involved in volunteer and community groups. This abrupt move will pull them away from the community ties they have made in the last year, and force them to start from scratch in an unknown place.
For people who are already traumatised by their experiences both in their home countries and during the journey they have made to reach the UK, this upturning of their lives is going to have a significant impact on their mental health. Indeed, we are already seeing an increase in anxiety and depression among those residents who are due to be moved.
It is also worthy of note that hotels in other parts of East Sussex which are being closed are accommodating families. The impact of moving families with school aged children at short notice, taking them out of schools and away from friends, cannot be underestimated.
3. Those men whose claims for refuge in the UK have been successful are now facing homelessness.
Although not a direct result of the hotel closure, there are over 30 men who have been accommodated in this hotel for a year who have received Refugee status from the government. Whilst this is fantastic news for them, and allows them to begin the next stage of rebuilding their lives, the Home Office support, including accommodation, ends after 28 days of a successful claim.
The residents have not been allowed to work since arriving in the UK, and they have only been able to access education for a few months. This is hindering their ability to find employment, and lack of income or savings is a barrier to finding housing. This is an issue facing many people in Hastings, but in the case of our new neighbours it is heightened by spending the last year in limbo.
We encourage everyone to write to MP Sally-Ann Hart sallyann.hart.mp@parliament.uk
and your local Councillor who can be found here
demanding that they do not turn a blind eye to this continuing inhumane treatment of people seeking refuge in thier town.