Mansfield and Warsop Member of Parliament Ben Bradley has praised the news that Mansfield’s asylum hotel is set to close. The decision was communicated by the Home Office and Tom Pursglove MP, Minister for Legal Migration and the Border, on the 15th January.
As part of the announcement, the Home Office confirmed that all individuals housed in the Mansfield asylum hotel will be moved on by the end of March. This announcement follows the Prime Minister’s commitment that the government will cease to use hotel accommodation for those arriving via the English channel and they will instead be housed in much cheaper, larger accommodation blocks before they are removed.
Ben has been raising the concerns of residents on the hotel being used to house migrants since the first individuals began arriving in 2022. This includes expressing his concerns that a hotel typically used to house homeless people would now no longer be available to those worst-off. Ben also used his dual role as a Member of Parliament and Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council to highlight how the number of people arriving illegally via the English Channel has impacted local government budgets and pushed for the boats to be stopped as soon as possible.
Commenting, Ben Bradley stated:
‘Positive news today that Government's programme of shutting down asylum hotels is continuing to make progress, and I've been informed by the Home Office that Mansfield's Asylum Hotel will be closing imminently.’
‘All contracts will cease and the site will be returned to its normal use by March. That's positive news and will ease the burden on local public services. I'm sure residents will be pleased that the commitment we've heard around this is now being realised and there no longer be any Asylum Hotel or similar migrant accommodation in Mansfield going forward.’
‘Of course the bigger picture is we need to stop people coming here illegally in the first place. In 2023 overall numbers of illegal migrants crossing the channel were down by 35%, which compares favourably against the rest of Europe where numbers have sky rocketed over the same period. However, we all know that one is too many, and this week we'll take further steps to implement additional deterrents and to agree further options to deport people with no right to be here.’
