In Britain, affluent areas have been urged to take in more asylum seekers
British Immigration Minister Anna Turley supported Prime Minister Andy Bernam’s proposal to place more asylum seekers in the country’s wealthier areas. She stated that poorer communities, particularly Blackpool, have already taken in their “fair share” of asylum seekers.
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Turley said that the distribution should take into account the capabilities of specific areas, their infrastructure, and what level of accommodation is acceptable to local communities. According to her, the government will not ask any area to take in more people than it can accommodate.
The minister also defended the government’s decision to stop using hotels to house asylum seekers. Instead, the plan is to house people in larger, basic accommodations, such as industrial sites or former military bases. Terli stated that the government aims to provide asylum seekers with a safe and more suitable place to live, while minimizing the impact on local communities.
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In particular, she commented on a plan to house up to 1,250 people at a former military base near the small village of Paddington in Oxfordshire. Local residents oppose this project. Terli emphasized that the base is located outside the village, is a self-contained facility, and that the necessary services will be provided directly on its grounds.
The UK Home Office reported that 13 more hotels in England are no longer being used to house asylum seekers, including the Grand Metropole Hotel in Blackpool. According to government data, 44 such hotels have been decommissioned since the beginning of the year, and the number of facilities remaining in the system is less than 160.
