“Unsuited” Rotherham hotel to house asylum seekers for another year

Earlier this year, 130 asylum seekers were moved from the Ibis in Bramley to the Holiday Inn hotel in Manvers.

John Healey, Mp for Wentworth and Dearne, revealed this week that the Home Office have extended the exclusive contract with the Holiday Inn at Manvers for another year, until October 2023.

Mr Healey says he is “extremely disappointed” in the decision, which he says was made without community consultation.

He has written to the Home Secretary Suella Braverman, stating that the hotel is “utterly unsuited” as accommodation for 130 asylum seekers, seven miles away from Rotherham town centre and a lack of capacity in the NHS system.

“Once again, this is a decision that has been taken without consultation with our local community, council or agencies and it goes against what the Government said back in March, that this would be a ‘temporary’ use,” said Mr Healey.

“It is clear that the use of hotels as accommodation for those seeking asylum in the UK is a direct result of a failing and unfair asylum system.

“There are no black and minority ethnic groups in Manvers and the Rotherham based BME organisations have limited capacity to travel to the hotel.”

A senior Home Office director is set to visit Rotherham this month, to “see for herself the problems with our Manvers location”.