In light of this week’s report into Asylum Accommodation by the Home Affairs Select Committee, Dr Jonathan Darling, who submitted expert evidence to the inquiry, responds to its findings and suggests a way forwards. Asylum accommodation is currently provided through six regional contracts with three private providers There have been reports of substandard and inappropriate […]
A shared Britain – refugee policy for 2017
To start the year, Dr Jonathan Darling, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography specialising in the politics and ethics of forced migration, and Gulwali Passarlay, Afghan refugee, politics graduate and author of ‘The Lightless Sky’, reflect on how government might support asylum seekers and refugees in 2017. Together, they discuss the challenges of the last year […]
The use of hotels is a sign of failing asylum accommodation policy
With news of the hotel chain Britannia accommodating up to 300 asylum seekers in a hotel in Manchester, Dr Jonathan Darling argues that this reliance on hotels demonstrates a failing asylum accommodation policy. The hotel, in Northenden, has been used by the private contractor Serco to house asylum seekers as part of the UK’s dispersal […]
Behind the red front doors – is asylum housing policy showing enough concern for the needs of the vulnerable?
No-one would say it was easy to agree public policy for the thorny issue of housing asylum seekers. But, argues Jonathan Darling, a recent news story shows just how urgent it is that a change of emphasis takes place. Last week, officials from the Home Office visited Middlesbrough to inspect properties used to house asylum […]
What role might cities play in UK asylum policy?
Government policy towards asylum seekers is being challenged. Dr Jonathan Darling asks if this should become part of the debate on the devolution of powers. Disagreements between local authorities and the Home Office over asylum seeker dispersal numbers and arrangements have a long-standing history in Britain. Yet recently they have garnered greater media attention due […]