Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, has ordered providers of migrant accommodation to cease taking over entire housing estates following a public outcry over plans to house 83 asylum seekers in 21 new-build homes worth £250,000 each in Stoke Heath, Shropshire.
Locals Outraged by Sudden Change in Housing Plans
Residents in Stoke Heath said they were originally told the new development would be affordable housing for people on the local housing register. Instead, the Home Office's asylum accommodation providers—Serco, Clearspring Ready Homes, and Mears—have been taking over entire estates, flat blocks, and housing developments across the country.
Similar but smaller developments have been identified in Suffolk, where four brand-new £300,000 townhouses were given to asylum-seeking families. Entire flat blocks in Huddersfield, Chelmsford, and Bournemouth have also been taken over, according to sources.
Fresh Fury as New-Build Houses Earmarked for Asylum Seekers
Twenty-one smart new-build houses in Stoke Heath were earmarked for asylum seekers, with one family already moved in and more expected in the coming weeks. Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said: "The news from Stoke Heath that you can simply break into Britain and get to live in a brand new £250,000 house for free is simply the latest betrayal from the Labour-Conservative establishment. They have failed our nation and opened the door to hundreds of thousands of unvetted illegal migrants who live a life of luxury at the cost of the British taxpayer."
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp added: "Entire brand-new housing estates are being given to illegal immigrants as British families face high housing costs and social housing waiting lists. This disgraceful decision is a slap in the face to local youngsters who can't afford these homes. This plan should be urgently cancelled."
Asylum Seeker Family Speaks Out About Unsuitable Housing
A family living in the Stoke Heath estate described their experience. Muhammad Nadeem, his wife Shamaila, and their four children fled Pakistan two years ago. They initially rented a house in Stockport, where Muhammad qualified for a work visa and worked as an Uber driver. After the visa expired, they applied for asylum and were moved to a hotel before being placed in the new-build.
Mr Nadeem said: "I am diabetic, I don't have a GP here, and the shops are miles away. If my bread goes out of date, what do I do? It's a £10 taxi ride to Asda and £10 back. If I need only bread, it will cost me more than £20. The Home Office gives us £295 a week for six members. Most of our money goes on taxis. This is no good for us this place. It's too rural. We now have security guards outside, but we don't feel safe. We don't want to be here."
Serco and Home Office Respond
Serco, responsible for housing asylum seekers in the West Midlands, said: "We work under the direction of the Home Office, who decide where people are placed, based on overall national demand. The Home Office determines how many people are to be accommodated in each local authority area and instruct us accordingly."
The Home Office stated: "This Government is restoring order to the system by making record levels of asylum decisions, cutting claims by 12 per cent and increasing removals of illegal migrants by 41 per cent. We are working closely with local authorities to ramp up the closure of asylum hotels across the UK. Hotel numbers have more than halved since their peak and instead we are scaling up the use of large, basic accommodation for illegal migrants to reduce community impact."
