DUP minister says 'hundreds of homes' are laying empty in Northern Ireland due to Home Office asylum policy
Hundreds of homes in Northern Ireland held by a firm which houses asylum seekers and refugees are laying empty – and the Home Office should “urgently” release them to ease pressures on the housing market, the deputy First Minister has said.
Emma Little-Pengelly’s comments come amid growing questions about the government’s asylum policy, and the profits made by one of its main contractors – Mears.
The company has been forced to hand back almost £14m, after making more profit than contracts allow – with its highest rate of profit being recorded in Northern Ireland.
The DUP MLA argues the company “has got rich” from its contract with the Home Office, “exceeding the permitted profits margins”.
The Lagan Valley MLA said: “The Home Office, through Mears, currently has hundreds of homes on its books which are sitting empty. At a time when so many can't get affordable private rental, families are homeless, where many others can't find a property to enable them even to move out of their parents' house or are currently in unsuitable housing this is entirely unacceptable and must be addressed urgently”
She said she was “shocked to learn that the Home Office is holding in excess of 1000 empty bed spaces” in NI – and said a “lack of transparency on Home Office operations in NI is not acceptable”.
A spokesperson for Mears said there will always be “a small number of properties” empty at any time due to people leaving and entering the asylum system – a number they aim to keep to a minimum. Properties are handed back if not required, they said.
“We work very closely with The Housing Executive and other partners in Northern Ireland to ensure that Mears approach to asylum accommodation does not have an adverse impact on local communities, including on housing availability”, the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for Shabana Mahmood’s Home Office said: “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels in this country.
“This government will close every asylum hotel and we are working to move asylum seekers into more suitable accommodation such as military bases, to ease pressure on communities across the country”