- WHY USE THE OLD PALACE LODGE TO ACCOMMODATE ASYLUM SEEKERS?
- What is the process for a hotel to ask this Government to take them over and pay to accommodate asylum seekers, they can’t just phone up the Home Office, surely?
The Home Office approached the Old Palace Lodge (OPL). The Home Office is very clear that using hotels is a temporary solution.
- You’ve said you’ve been talking to both the Home Office and OPL, so who actually brokered this deal?
The Home Office first approached me on 15 December to say that they had ‘identified’ the OPL as a site to accommodate asylum seekers. I asked the Home Office the same day not to proceed, given the huge importance of the hotel for important family events.
- The OPL is owned by a holding management company, which owns other hotels and businesses in Dunstable and other areas. Is this company filling all its hotels with asylum seekers? Is the owner benefitting from their other businesses they own in Dunstable?
These are questions for the owners and can be asked at the public meeting on 16 February.
- If it’s Government policy to fill luxury 4 and 5 star hotels in town and city centres with foreign immigrants, why aren’t all the London hotels being taken over by the Home Office?
London hotels are being used and this has been the case for many years. For example, a recent report by Croydon Council has shown that the number of asylum seekers living in hotels in Croydon has tripled.
- Why not use the many disused Ministry of Defence buildings, empty holiday camps, and the Bedfordshire Detention Centre?
A wider programme of projects has been set up to deliver a significant increase in the numbers of asylum accommodation beds in non-hotel accommodation. These projects include, but are not restricted to, the potential use of disused holiday camps, surplus and unused government sites, commercial land, and modular builds. These larger sites will provide bed spaces at half the cost of hotels.
In the meantime, the Government has a statutory obligation to provide support and accommodation to asylum seekers where they are destitute. We will therefore need to continue to use contingency accommodation to ensure that we fulfil this obligation.
- As the Old Palace Lodge is a Grade II listed building, can this fact be used to overturn the Home Office decision?
Historic England response:
“Historic England is consulted by local planning authorities on planning applications for a change of use of a Grade II* or Grade I listed building, not usually for Grade II. It is for the local planning authority to determine if a change of use has happened and if consent is required. Historic England would usually only comment if there was a proposed significant change to the fabric of the building.”
Most of the rooms at the Old Palace Lodge are new builds. I do know that detailed photos were taken of every room and the Home Office has an obligation to make sure they are returned to that standard should there be any property damage.
- Doesn’t occupying a hotel, especially Grade II listed in a town centre require some form of planning consent or agreement by Central Beds/Dunstable Town Council/the Listing authority or other organisations such as English Heritage, Historic England?
It is not a “change of use” in planning terms.
- Why do the owners of the OPL not appreciate the building’s historical significance in Dunstable?
This is a question for the owners. However, after having spoken to them at length about this issue, I do understand that Covid was a very difficult time for them, during which the hotel acquired significant debt, and even with a very significant government energy rebate, their energy bills are enormous and room occupancy too low. When we do get it back, those that are able to, need to support it because life has been very tough for hotels due to the pandemic and the energy crisis. The Old Palace Lodge will only survive if it is well used.
- Why did the Home Office feel a Grade II listed hotel in the centre of a town was the best place in the whole of Bedfordshire to accommodate so many more asylum seekers?
The Home Office are open to legal challenge if asylum seekers are not moved out of their initial holding centre in 24hrs and taxpayers have not wanted to pay for spare asylum seeker accommodation in advance of the recent influx. The Home Office therefore has a desperate need for accommodation.
- Tom Shaw, a Luton Borough Councillor attended the meeting and said that Luton is having to accommodate more than 1100 Asylum Seekers. It’s estimated Dunstable now has more than 400 across the hotels being occupied. Cllr Shaw told the meeting 5% of the UKs population live in our East Anglia region, yet 25% of all Asylum Seekers have been accommodated between Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Is this true? If not, what are the correct figures?
Bedfordshire is already doing more to accommodate asylum seekers than other parts of the East of England. 24% of asylum seekers in the East of England have been placed in Bedfordshire, so it was wrong of the Home Office to offer another contract to a hotel in the county.
- What do you think the residents can do to get this decision reversed?
There is no way of overturning the current lease however, to prevent the lease being extended longer than is necessary or losing the Old Palace Lodge residents must support the owners and the business to ensure it can remain a thriving business and remains open in the future. I have asked the Home Office to exercise the break clause in the contract as soon as more suitable accommodation becomes available.
- As you knew what was going on weeks ago, what provisions were provided for all 40+ staff, who were apparently only told over the weekend that they no longer have a job? How are you/your Government going to help the staff who have lost their jobs, not only financially, but their with their mental health, as this must have come as a tremendous shock to all of them?
I understand that permanent staff still have their jobs. This can be confirmed by the hotel on 16 February at the public meeting.
- CONCERNS OVER WHO WILL BE STAYING AT THE OPL
- What are the nationality groups, gender, age?
Unknown at this time.
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- Are they all single men, or families with children?
Unknown at this time.
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- How many and how long will they stay/how long is the contract?
The contracts is signed for 12-months with break clauses within it.
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- How many asylum seekers in total is the Home Office currently housing in Dunstable?
As of the 2nd February there are no asylum seekers at the Old Palace Lodge. In the Holiday Inn, 169 asylum seekers.
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- How are these asylum seekers funded?
Our international aid budget is paying, which would otherwise be spent on humanitarian relief overseas.
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- What luxuries will they enjoy for free – full board, choice of meals, all laundry done?
There will not be ‘luxuries’. The Home Office and their contractor, Clear Springs Ready Homes, will provide food, clothing and other essentials.
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- How much money do they receive each day?
An allowance of £9.10 per week is provided to cover any essentials not provided by the Home Office and Clear Springs. The Home Office’s accommodation provider provides those living in hotels with a debit card where £9.10 is uploaded on a weekly basis to cover the costs of things not provided at the hotel.
- CONCERNS FOR SAFETY IN DUNSTABLE NOW
With such a sudden large influx of foreigners into the town centre:
- What has been done to safeguard the local community?
The site will be staffed by full-time Home Office staff who will reside on the site. The Home Office will work closely with a range of partners within the community including local authorities, police, and health leads to ensure residents are kept informed. The Home Office also work with local NGOs and charities through regular forums.
- Will additional Police be patrolling the town centre during the day and night?
Bedfordshire Police are aware of the situation and have been party to meetings with Central Bedfordshire Council, NHS, Social Services, the Home Office and the company managing the hotel. Contingencies and plans have been put in place by all partners. Bedfordshire Police will respond as appropriate.
- What have you done to ensure the safety of children from these foreigners?
Crime is committed by all nationalities and Bedfordshire Police will uphold the law and fight crime, irrespective of who commits crime.
- What will you be doing to protect the elderly, especially in the town centre?
Bedfordshire Police constantly assess threat and risk and will always respond to any crime.
- What additional security will you be providing against child abduction and paedophiles?
Before asylum seekers are moved from the point when they asked for protection into contingency accommodation they undergo rigorous Home Office security screening, including collecting biometric data and checking against national and international crime databases. They are also often victims of crime not perpetrators.
- Will additional bus/minibus services be provided to transport children across Dunstable and to avoid walking past the Old Palace Lodge?
No. Bedfordshire Police report no problem with pedestrians walking by the Holiday Inn Express.
- What additional security will be provided, especially at night to safeguard the local community, men, women, and children in Dunstable town centre?
As stated, Home Office officials will be on site full-time.
- Were you aware residents in Priory View, most of whom are elderly, were invited to a meeting themselves yesterday afternoon to discuss their concerns and fears. The meeting was told some resident have asked to be moved from ground floor accommodation to a higher floor, as they fear for their safety. Apparently, this meeting was organised by Central Beds Council.
Priory View residents had an existing meeting to discuss existing Priory View and security issues. The OPL was also discussed but was not the reason the meeting was arranged. A CBC Cllr happened to be present in their role as Ward Councillor.
- WHAT DID YOU DO TO PREVENT THIS HAPPENING?
I wrote to the Home Office and requested that they identify a different hotel. I also informed Central Bedfordshire Council and spoke to the owners of the hotel, to ask them to reconsider.
- What due diligence did you carry out, or ensure the Home Office, and Central Bedfordshire Council conducted before the decision was made to accommodate asylum seekers in this town centre hotel?
When the Home Office told me that they were looking at the Old Palace Lodge, I responded the same day, saying that I objected very strongly and I suggested another venue that could be used.
The Home Office first approached me on 15 December to say that they had ‘identified’ the OPL as a site to accommodate asylum seekers. I wrote back that day to object saying the town needed to keep the OPL because of the very important role it played in the life and economy of Dunstable. I copied in the Leader and Chief Executive of Central Bedfordshire Council that day. I also immediately contacted the owners who told me very clearly that they had not made any decision and would not do so to the new year. I asked the owners if I could help in any way to keep the hotel open to the public. They told me that low room occupancy, their pandemic debts, and high energy costs, in spite of significant government rebates were all combining to threaten the survival of the hotel.
I have spoken to the Immigration Minister recently and told him that it is very urgent that the people of the town get their hotel back, to use it in the way it always has been.
- What preparations did you ask Central Bedfordshire Council to make in advance of these asylum seekers coming to Dunstable?
The Home Office position is that CBC do not need to provide services for the temporarily housed asylum seekers.
- Which Central Beds Councillor did you tell, soon after you were informed by the Home Office?
The Leader, the CEO and the Executive Member for Adult Social Care at Central Bedfordshire Council. At this time there was no confirmation that the OPL would accept the offer and it was advised that it be kept confidential until a decision was made to prevent any adverse interest or actions that may impact the safety of asylum seekers and staff within the hotel. Once the OPL accepted the offer it was made public.
- Why didn’t you make the general public aware weeks ago, instead of keeping everything secret?
The owners only took the decision to agree the Home Office contract shortly before the news was made public, so there was no announcement to make.
- Why didn’t you tell Dunstable Town Council, so they may have tried to prevent this happening, and discuss helping the Old Palace Lodge?
It is CBC rather than DTC who usually handle communication with Government departments on local issues.
- POLICING, SECURITY AND USE OF LOCAL SERVICES
- What additional Policing have you asked to now be in Dunstable town centre?
Bedfordshire Police now have a record 1,403 police officers which I have lobbied for and I continually challenge the Chief Constable to place more of them in Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.
- Residents who live close to the Old Palace Lodge, especially elderly people, now feel afraid to go out because of this decision, what are you going to do to reassure them?
Bedfordshire Police have reported no problems with pedestrians walking by the Holiday Inn Express and will respond appropriately should issues arise outside the Old Palace Lodge.
- Residents feel there will be an increase in crime and therefore more Police resources will be required. Did you contact the Chief Constable and Police Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire, when you were told what was going to happen with the OPL? If not, have you since asked them to help and get involved?
It would be unfair to assume that the asylum seekers residing at the OPL will commit crimes. I have spoken to both Bedfordshire Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding the Old Palace Lodge and where any crimes are committed in Dunstable from someone of any nationality Bedfordshire Police will take appropriate action. I have already told the Home Office that Bedfordshire has more than its fair share of asylum seekers.
- Residents feel there will be more demand on our medical services, doctor’s surgeries, and the Luton & Dunstable hospital, as well as the new Health Hub. What have you done to ensure extra staff and funding will be put in place to help with the sudden additional burden?
Under the rules of the NHS, asylum seekers are entitled to primary care services are paid for in the same way as is the case for anyone on welfare benefits. As an ‘immediate access’ hotel it is expected that people will be housed for a very short time before they are moved to more permanent accommodation anywhere in the country. Their use of local health care should therefore be limited.
- If children and women are to be accommodated in the Old Palace Lodge, what arrangements have been made for education and services they will require?
Central Bedfordshire Council will receive extra funding to provide education and is the same for asylum seeking children as it is for any other child entering a local school. The intention is for all asylum seekers in the hotel to be there very briefly though.
- EDUCATION AND INTEGRATION
- Now that so many asylum seekers have been “dumped” in the centre of Dunstable, what resources have you, the OPL and the Home Offices made sure will be available to help them in the community they are now living?
Central Bedfordshire Council is experienced in supporting asylum seekers and refugees, and a whole range of council services may be involved in ensuring they have the support asylum seekers need, this includes support from our children’s and adult social care teams and schools and educational services as well as helping access our health partners and support from voluntary groups.
- As you didn’t forewarn the Town Council, how is it supposed to now help these people learn about Dunstable, our community and the services we provide to residents?
I have already had kind offers from local churches willing to help the asylum seekers once they have arrived.
- Have you organised some form of liaison between whoever is managing the OPL now, and the Dunstable Town Clerk? If not, are you going to?
I have been in contact with the Town Clerk and will assist him as required.
- These asylum seekers may feel vulnerable and frighted too, so what programmes have you instigated to help them?
Central Bedfordshire Council is experienced in supporting asylum seekers and refugees, and a whole range of council services may be involved in ensuring they have the support they need, this includes support from our children’s and adult social care teams and schools and educational services as well as helping access our health partners and support from voluntary groups. Local churches have already offered to assist.
- What preparation have you asked Central Beds Council to organise in relation to Community Service Workers helping the people now occupying the OPL?
As of 2nd February there are no asylum seekers in the Old Palace Lodge, and while Central Bedfordshire Council is experienced in these matters, I will of course assist if required.
- WHAT ABOUT OUR OWN PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP
- What about our own local homeless people who have to sleep in the open, why can’t they be accommodated for free in this luxury hotel?
Central Bedfordshire Council have the following homeless policy
We will help you if you're:
- already homeless
- threatened with being homeless
We'll secure suitable accommodation for you, regardless of whether you're intentionally homeless, or have a priority need.
We're required to do this under the Homelessness Reduction Act (2017).
We do this by negotiating with the people you live with, or your landlord. We'll also give you advice and practical help to find another home quickly.
If you have a priority need, are already homeless or can't avoid becoming homeless
We may offer you what's called "transitional accommodation". This is temporary housing while we work with you to find suitable housing. We'll do this if we have a duty to provide longer term housing.
In the first instance, transitional accommodation is likely to be hostel-type accommodation. It may not always be within the area where you were living, or even within Central Bedfordshire.
If we do have a duty to re-house you, we'll make you an offer of suitable longer-term accommodation. This could be with a private landlord, a housing association or social housing we own.
You will only be made one offer of suitable accommodation and it will be the first home that becomes available.
- What are you and your Conservative Government doing to help our own people who are desperate, vulnerable and need just as much help as all these asylum seekers?
This is a rather wide question as you don’t specify what form of help they may need. However, all cost-of-living support can be found on Cost of living support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
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- What are you doing for those financially effected by events being cancelled?
I have been reassured by the owners of the Old Palace Lodge that everyone has been refunded for the events that have been cancelled. If you have not yet been refunded please contact me on andrew.selous.mp@parliament.uk and I will take your case up urgently.