Manchester political leaders demand action on asylum seeker housing

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and councillor Bev Craig have written to the government

Political leaders have called for the government to take urgent action to help house asylum seekers and refugees.

It comes as councils prepare for the closure of hotels which have been used to accommodate Afghan refugees.

Four of the "bridging" hotels are in the Greater Manchester region and residents have started receiving 90-day notices to leave.

Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, his deputy Kate Green and the 10 council leaders have written to the government.

In a letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove, they have set out demands, including a call for the 90-day notice period to be extended.

They spoke of the "acute" pressures local authorities were facing, blaming government policies and called out the recent "divisive" rhetoric regarding immigration.

'Severe shortage'

The council leaders said they were "confident" suitable accommodation would be found for the 710 individuals affected by the closures - but asked for more time to ensure it could happen.

Their letter reaffirmed the city-region's "long-standing commitment" to do its part to help people when they arrive, but accused the government of reducing its support for those who need it most.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the leaders' list of requests included providing local authorities with a funding package for non-UK national provision that could be spent flexibly, including across homelessness, schools and integration and employment support.

They also suggested measures to address the "severe shortage of affordable homes" which prevented people from moving on from homelessness.

A government spokesperson said: "Our commitment to speed up asylum processing is crucial in offering protection to those who need it and reducing costs to the public purse.

"We want to help rebuild lives here in the UK while ensuring local councils are supported to deliver different housing needs for people in the areas that they call home.

"That is why we are giving councils across Greater Manchester more than £23m over the next two years to prevent homelessness - this can be used to work with landlords to provide temporary accommodation or find new housing.

"We have already delivered more than 2m homes in England since 2010 and we remain committed to building 300,000 every year through our £11.5bn investment so communities can reap the rewards of affordable, quality homes."