Degrading Living Conditions for Asylum Seekers are Fuelled by Privatisation

Description

Asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their claim for protection in the UK have been put at risk by a system that outsources their housing to private companies rather than local councils. There was a national outcry in January when The Times revealed that asylum seekers in some parts of Middlesborough were living in houses with red doors, and that some had been the target of hate crime. These crimes included threats, property damage and harassment, such as smearing dog excrement against home entrances and throwing eggs and stones at windows. The National Front logo carved into one door left little doubt about the reasons the occupants were being targeted. The company contracted to provide the housing, G4S, had used a sub-contractor, called Jomast which denied any policy of identifying asylum housing, saying it “uses red paint across its portfolio of properties”.

 

Subject

By privatising housing services previously provided under councils, we have exposed people seeking asylum to the “ill-judged” decisions of some private companies. Instead, we need to reconcile housing provision with the dignity, respect and safety of people seeking asylum.