Cannock Chase Council quizzed on support given to asylum seekers who stayed in Holiday Inn

Resident Sharon Jagger, who put forward the question at Wednesday’s full council meeting, also highlighted the dedication of volunteers who have stepped in to assist those seeking asylum who were placed in Cannock's Holiday Inn hotel while they waited for their claims to be assessed.

When they were moved out without notice the community came together to provide bags and luggage for their possessions, she told councillors. She urged the authorities to consider liaising with volunteers on the ground when making decisions on how to spend grant funding from the Government.

She said: “I’ve been involved in supporting asylum seekers housed locally by the Home Office.

"Volunteers have been assisting with issues including access to healthcare and dental care, access to local ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) classes, participation in sports activities, access to local college courses, support for those aged under 18 who weren’t recognised as minors by the Home Office, social support through get-together events within the local community, support for interpreting official letters and documents, support with securing local accommodation once their refugee status was confirmed, support with practising English conversation in local community groups – and, more recently, support with the lengthy application process for mandatory digital ID documentation.

“Local community volunteers have been providing a huge amount of ongoing support to these people. Please can the council explain the ways in which you have utilised the Government funding which was allocated to you to facilitate support for asylum seekers temporarily housed in the Cannock Chase District?”

Earlier this year Cannock Chase Council was given more than £175,000 by the Government to cover the cost of asylum seekers staying in the hotel while their claims are being processed. The accommodation opened in the district in November 2021 to provide temporary living space for people seeking asylum in the UK.

Councillor David Williams, Portfolio Leader for Community Wellbeing, thanked volunteers for their work to support asylum seekers and provide a warm welcome to the district. He said the council had worked with Serco, which is contracted to provide accommodation and support services for asylum seekers, as well as charity Refugee Action.

The council had offered grant funding for organisations wishing to offer activities to support asylum seekers in the district. But there were no bids received for any projects, councillors were told on Wednesday.

Councillor Williams added: “The community safety team committed a very high level of staff and resources to ensure community cohesion. Community tensions were robustly monitored during this period, working closely with colleagues at Staffordshire Police.

“Sixty-three per cent of asylum seekers get positive initial decisions in their claim for asylum. Of those that appeal, 46 per cent are allowed and Cannock Chase Council picks up the homelessness duty when they do.

“This is through emergency accommodation and providing advice and guidance. We use translation services to ensure advice is fully understood.

“Due to the number of people in the Holiday Inn, we were assured we would have sufficient funding available to provide homelessness duty. We set aside much of the funding for this purpose – we didn’t want to reduce the budget of the existing homelessness team who needed to support existing residents of Cannock Chase District.

“As a result of the hotel closing at short notice earlier this year, people have transferred to other locations outside the district. Funding reserved for this duty wasn’t used.”