Asylum upheaval ‘chaos' predicted

Wholesale changes to accommodation contracts for asylum seekers could undermine community cohesion and cause administrative chaos, regional chiefs have warned.

Experts have raised fears that thousands of families could be forced to move from one provider's accommodation to another's.

The deadline for tenders for the next round of contracts with the National Asylum Support Service passed today.

Robin Rennie, interim regional manager at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities' refugee and asylum seekers consortium, said that thousands of families in Glasgow could be forced to move.

Glasgow Housing Association provides almost all the accommodation for around 5,500 asylum seeker households in the region but was only guaranteed 50 per cent of the contract, he said.

Nadeem Ahmad, regional manager at the North East Consortium of Asylum and Refugee Support Services, admitted it would be a struggle if large numbers of people had to move under the Home Office's cost-cutting drive. 'In that respect there would be chaos,' he said.

'I would be concerned about moving families that might have been in accommodation for as long as 10, 12, or 15 years,' he said. 'If there are children of school age trying to find another place for them could be very difficult.'

The government was criticised by the National Audit Office for wasting at least £25 million a year through paying over the odds on accommodation for asylum seekers (Inside Housing, 8 July).

But David Barnes, regional director at the West Midlands Consortium for Asylum and Refugee Support, said the prospect of widespread changes to the contracts was a 'doomsday scenario'.

'The cost to the tax payer in redistributing people would be considerable,' he said.

Unlike other regions, WMCARS was bidding for a contract in conjunction with the private sector, he said. 'I would be foolish to say I am not concerned. 'But I do not believe that [wholesale change] would be in the interest of the economy.'

Sam Lister, policy officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said families could suffer if they were forced to move.

'It is very difficult for people who are not familiar with an area to put down some sort of roots,' he said. 'Establishing themselves with health care and education facilities is difficult enough and if they have

to do it more than once it will disrupt their ability to integrate as well as not being good for community cohesion.'

A Home Office spokesperson did not rule out wholesale changes to the contracts but said it was too early to speculate. 'They could all change or none could change,' he said. 'It's too early to say what decisions will

be made.'

The contract winners are expected to be announced in January.