“If you’ve lived here your whole life, then you should be first in the queue.”
Sheltering from the icy wind in a cafe in Margate on the Kent coast, Jess had robust views on the news that her local authority is considering joining a Government pilot scheme to provide new housing for asylum seekers.
The mother-of-two has been on a waiting list for social housing since last summer with Thanet District Council. “I’m sorry for the people coming over on the boats but you’ve got to look after your own,” she said.
A few hundred yards away, Mikael offered a different perspective as he emerged from a hotel used to house asylum seekers in the seaside town’s Cliftonville area.
The Eritrean national, who arrived on a small boat crossing last year, said: “I feel safer here. I want to build a new life. I want to do something to help these people who are helping me.”
Between them, Jess and Mikael find themselves at the crux of the Government’s plan to meet its pledge to end the use of privately-owned hotels to house migrants by once more involving local authorities in the provision of accommodation for newly-arrived asylum seekers.
‘Win-win’ for social housing
Under a Whitehall scheme quietly announced in recent weeks, £100m is being provided to allow district councils to buy newly-built homes or renovate derelict properties which would initially be used to house asylum seekers.
The properties would be leased back to the Home Office for an expected 10-year period as asylum seeker housing to be used instead of hotels. At the end of that time, or when no longer needed, the property would revert back to the local authority to be added to its social housing stock.
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