Housing shake-up fears for Bradford refugees (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Housing shake-up fears for Bradford refugees
8:00am Friday 10th February 2012 in Bradford
Organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the Bradford district have raised concerns over plans by the UK Border Agency to award private security company G4S a contract to run social housing for people seeking refuge in the UK.
The firm, which runs immigrant detention centres and prisons, is the preferred bidder to take over the management from local authorities of hundreds of asylum seekers’ homes across Yorkshire at the end of the month.
Representatives who met at Bradford Action for Refugees’ offices in Piccadilly yesterday expressed fears the contract would require all asylum seekers living in local authority housing to be moved to new homes, and raised concerns over the company’s record for handling asylum seekers.
Will Sutcliffe, chairman of Bradford City of Sanctuary, said: “People who have travelled across the world to be here have at last had a period of stability. To be moved two miles, you may as well move them to another city.
“It’s not a minor disruption. If you have established a relationship with your local GP, you know the local bus routes, your kids are in local schools, it’s a massive disruption to be moved.”
Vicky Greenman, manager for Bradford Action for Refugees, said although there were around 400 asylum seekers living in the city, many lived in housing owned by social landlords such as Incommunities, rather than the local authority.
She said: “If accommodation is taken away from Incommunities the impact will be detrimental and the impact on advice organisations like ourselves will be enormous.”
The group now plans to lobby MPs and Bradford Council over the proposals, which would save an estimated £150 million over seven years.
Richard Morris, group managing director of G4S care and justice services, said: “We are confident that our approach would improve the provision of accommodation for asylum applicants and their families.”
