A local MP is hopeful of scoring a victory in the issue of asylum seekers housed in a town centre hotel.
On Monday, a government minister revealed that member of parliament Peter Swallow has been ‘doggedly pursuing’ him over the issue of refugees in Bracknell Forest.
He told the MP that the government is following a “process” to consider the broader context of each postcode and assess whether there is ‘provision’ in the local area that means it might not be suitable.
The idea is that each community has a certain capacity to sustain a ‘supported population’ which for Bracknell, might include Afghan people living in so-called ‘in transitional accommodation’ in a town centre hotel.
Bracknell has been hosting Afghans who supported British forces under the Afghan resettlement programme, some of them in the Grange Hotel, and if the town also supported other asylum seekers, some believe it would be doing ‘more than its fair share’.
But so far, when communities have taken people under the Afghan re-settlement scheme, that hasn’t been considered in the calculation of how many asylum seekers each authority area should host.
But now, the Afghan resettlement scheme could considered as a way to count Bracknell community as doing its bit for welcoming immigrants.
On June 29, speaking in the house of commons, MP Peter Swallow asked:
“My honourable friend will know that Bracknell welcomed Afghans who supported our armed forces in transitional accommodation under the Afghan resettlement programme.
“But under the system introduced by the Conservatives that is not taken into account when considering a local area’s ability also to deliver asylum accommodation.
“He will know that I have been lobbying him on this matter, because small unitary authorities such as Bracknell Forest council cannot be expected to do more than their fair share. Can he provide an update on progress?”
The minister of state in the Home Office, Alex Norris replied: “My honourable friend has doggedly pursued me on this very important issue.
“It is really important that, as the Home Office, we consider the broader context—such as what he says with regard to Afghan resettlement scheme provision—around a community’s ability to sustain a supported population and that full dispersal model we inherited from our predecessors.
“What we have put in place, in our attempt to close the gap between local government and national Government, is a postcode check process, so that councils can say, “Well, hang on a minute, there is provision in this area that means it might not be suitable.”
“We are going through that process in Bracknell at the minute and I will work with him to hopefully get to a satisfactory conclusion.”
