Home Office issues statement over West Midlands village asylum seekers plan

The Home Office has responded over concern at plans to move asylum seekers into housing in a rural Shropshire village.

Details of the plan emerged earlier this week when Wrekin MP, Mark Pritchard, raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions.

He told how he had been informed of plans for Serco, on behalf of the government, to move people seeking asylum into 21 empty properties in Stoke Heath.

Mr Pritchard said it was the “wrong place”, and said the rural location lacks public transport links or shops.

The MP’s intervention was followed by Shropshire Council leader, Councillor Heather Kidd writing to the government raising “strong concerns” about the location.

The Shropshire Star understands that the plan was being considered by the government and Serco for more than 14 months.

People familiar with discussions said that Shropshire Council’s previous administration had been approached about the plan before last May’s council elections.

It is understood that the council articulated their concerns about the proposal at the time.

Since the plan was revealed a community group has been set up to campaign against the proposal, with a community meeting set to take place on Sunday.

The Home Office has now commented in response to the concern, and said it is “developing a long-term, sustainable strategy for asylum accommodation”.

Read more: Villagers react over decision to house 121 asylum seekers on estate

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are working to fairly disperse asylum seekers across the country, consulting closely with local authorities to further reduce our reliance on hotels and deliver better value for money for taxpayers, while giving control back to communities.

“The Home Office is developing a long-term, sustainable strategy for asylum accommodation, including exploring alternative options such as disused properties and ex-military sites to reduce community impact.”

The Shropshire Star asked the department specifically what risk assessments had been carried out over safety - relating to both local residents and asylum seekers.

In response it said it works “closely with local authorities and other statutory partners on safeguarding matters”.

Read more: MP says 121 asylum seekers will be going into ‘small rural Shropshire settlement’

The need for housing for people seeking asylum comes after the Labour Government ended the Conservative policy of using hotels.

Shropshire has seen several hotels used for housing asylum seekers, including Madeley Court in Telford and the Lion in Shrewsbury. The usage of both venues as accommodation for asylum seekers has stopped.