PRESS RELEASE: 28th Nov. 2022
REFUGEE ON HUNGER STRIKE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT ABUSE AND CONDITIONS AT A SERCO MANAGED HOTEL IN STOCKPORT
[PRESS RELEASES]
Join the Zoom tomorrow Tuesday the 29th. Hunger striker to speak out about Serco hotels and arrest by police
"Hasan" will describe how he and his wife were arrested by Greater Manchester Police, forcibly removed from the hospital and kept in police cells before being taken to another Serco managed hotel in Warrington.
He will discuss his protest and treatment during a media update on Zoom at 10am on Tuesday 29th November. It will be the 27th day of his hunger strike.
Anyone who wishes to join the Press Conference should email [email protected] and ask for the Zoom link.
A man who has now been on hunger strike for nearly a month, protesting about residents' treatment and conditions at a Serco managed hotel in
Stockport, will meet journalists and politicians at a Zoom press conference at 10am on Tuesday, 29th November.
He will discuss why he took such drastic action to highlight the conditions he and many other people seeking asylum are enduring in Serco hotel
accommodation throughout the North West. He will also discuss how he and his wife were arrested, taken from hospital and kept isolated in separate police cells before being taken to Warrington where they ended up outside in the cold and rain in the early hours of the morning.
In shocking scenes last week, witnessed by human rights volunteers, hospital staff and patients, "Hassan" and his wife, who has type 1 diabetes, were arrested and forcibly removed from their beds by Greater Manchester Police officers before being taken to a Salford police station where they were kept in separate cells for over six hours. The couple believe Serco staff were present when they were arrested.
At 10pm that night, they were taken to a Serco managed hotel in Warrington, despite "Hassan" having made clear that one of the conditions of stopping his hunger strike was that they should not be housed in any Serco "contingency" hotel accommodation following reports of ill-treatment by
staff. They were too afraid to go to their room at the Warrington hotel because of what they had previously experienced in Stockport and asked if
they could wait in the reception area for the night. Hotel staff refused to allow them to do this and they waited outside until an ambulance arrived
after they called the emergency services.
Conditions at the Stockport, Warrington and other similar "contingency" hotels, where people seeking asylum are housed while they wait for their
main Home Office interviews, have been highlighted by RAPAR and others. Stockport council said it shared RAPAR's concerns about the Serco managed hotel where an outbreak of scabies was only contained after an intervention by the local authority.
Attempts by residents to report health issues, verbal abuse, and nutritional concerns to Migrant Help, the charity which is supposed to relay residents' concerns to Serco, frequently came to nothing because it regularly takes hours to get through to the number provided. This problem
has been reported throughout the UK.
It was the hopelessness of the situation and his belief that no-one was listening which led to "Hassan" starting a hunger strike on November 2nd.
He was taken to hospital two days later after collapsing at the hotel.
RAPAR became aware of his hunger strike on November 5th, the day after he was admitted to hospital. We are now working with others to find temporary accommodation where "Hassan" and his wife feel safe.
Anyone who wishes to join the Press Conference on zoom 10am on Tuesday November 29th should email [email protected] and ask for the Zoom link.
For further details:
Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant [email protected] 07865 713474
"Hasan" will describe how he and his wife were arrested by Greater Manchester Police, forcibly removed from the hospital and kept in police cells before being taken to another Serco managed hotel in Warrington.
He will discuss his protest and treatment during a media update on Zoom at 10am on Tuesday 29th November. It will be the 27th day of his hunger strike.
Anyone who wishes to join the Press Conference should email [email protected] and ask for the Zoom link.
A man who has now been on hunger strike for nearly a month, protesting about residents' treatment and conditions at a Serco managed hotel in
Stockport, will meet journalists and politicians at a Zoom press conference at 10am on Tuesday, 29th November.
He will discuss why he took such drastic action to highlight the conditions he and many other people seeking asylum are enduring in Serco hotel
accommodation throughout the North West. He will also discuss how he and his wife were arrested, taken from hospital and kept isolated in separate police cells before being taken to Warrington where they ended up outside in the cold and rain in the early hours of the morning.
In shocking scenes last week, witnessed by human rights volunteers, hospital staff and patients, "Hassan" and his wife, who has type 1 diabetes, were arrested and forcibly removed from their beds by Greater Manchester Police officers before being taken to a Salford police station where they were kept in separate cells for over six hours. The couple believe Serco staff were present when they were arrested.
At 10pm that night, they were taken to a Serco managed hotel in Warrington, despite "Hassan" having made clear that one of the conditions of stopping his hunger strike was that they should not be housed in any Serco "contingency" hotel accommodation following reports of ill-treatment by
staff. They were too afraid to go to their room at the Warrington hotel because of what they had previously experienced in Stockport and asked if
they could wait in the reception area for the night. Hotel staff refused to allow them to do this and they waited outside until an ambulance arrived
after they called the emergency services.
Conditions at the Stockport, Warrington and other similar "contingency" hotels, where people seeking asylum are housed while they wait for their
main Home Office interviews, have been highlighted by RAPAR and others. Stockport council said it shared RAPAR's concerns about the Serco managed hotel where an outbreak of scabies was only contained after an intervention by the local authority.
Attempts by residents to report health issues, verbal abuse, and nutritional concerns to Migrant Help, the charity which is supposed to relay residents' concerns to Serco, frequently came to nothing because it regularly takes hours to get through to the number provided. This problem
has been reported throughout the UK.
It was the hopelessness of the situation and his belief that no-one was listening which led to "Hassan" starting a hunger strike on November 2nd.
He was taken to hospital two days later after collapsing at the hotel.
RAPAR became aware of his hunger strike on November 5th, the day after he was admitted to hospital. We are now working with others to find temporary accommodation where "Hassan" and his wife feel safe.
Anyone who wishes to join the Press Conference on zoom 10am on Tuesday November 29th should email [email protected] and ask for the Zoom link.
For further details:
Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant [email protected] 07865 713474
PRESS RELEASE: 14th Nov. 2022
RESIDENT OF HOTEL HOUSING PEOPLE SEEKING ASYLUM IS ON 12th DAY OF A HUNGER STRIKE
RESIDENT OF HOTEL HOUSING PEOPLE SEEKING ASYLUM IS ON 12th DAY OF A HUNGER STRIKE
HE IS PROTESTING ABOUT CONDITIONS AND TREATMENT AT THE SERCO MANAGED ACCOMMODATION IN STOCKPORT
A man who has been living with his family at a Serco managed hotel in Stockport - which has been the subject of widespread complaints - has now been on hunger strike for 12 days, protesting about conditions at the hotel and the way Serco staff treat residents.
RAPAR sent an Open Letter to Stockport council, and the town's four MPs, after being told that Serco were not responding to residents' safeguarding and health and safety complaints. Stockport council said they shared RAPAR's concerns (see press release from 10th Nov. immediately below).
Attempts by residents to reach Migrant Help, the organisation tasked by the Home Office with relaying residents' complaints to Serco, are frequently unsuccessful and many people have given up trying. This is a UK wide problem which is not being properly acknowledged by the Home Office or Serco. (On the Guardian: ‘It just rings and rings’: Home Office helpline for asylum seekers rated inadequate)
The hopelessness of the situation and his belief that no-one was listening led one man to start a hunger strike on November 2nd. He was taken to hospital two days later after collapsing at the hotel.
RAPAR became aware of his hunger strike on November 5th, the day after he was admitted to hospital and, since then, we have been liaising with hospital staff, social workers, and medical and legal professionals. His wife, who has type 1 diabetes, has been in the same hospital since the end of October and their daughter is currently living with a family friend.
During the last week, RAPAR has become increasingly concerned about the man's health. He was given fluids through a drip but this was disconnected and he has had no fluids since the drip was removed on Friday, November 10th. If this continues, it is likely to have serious consequences for his health.
He has been told he will be returned to the hotel but both he and his wife are frightened of going back because of the abuse they say they were subjected to in the past, and RAPAR has asked Stockport council and local MPs to assist with finding alternative and safe accommodation.
He is willing to take fluids intravenously but, at the moment, the drip remains disconnected and RAPAR has grave fears for his health.
His conditions for stopping the hunger strike include the introduction of a secure and efficient mechanism for all hotel residents to report complaints and concerns. But he is also asking for the immediate cessation of any attempts by the hospital staff to return him or his wife to the hotel. He says there should be no further interaction with him or his wife about leaving the hospital unless an appropriate interpreter and a RAPAR advocate are present.
Last week, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Neal said housing people seeking asylum in hotels is "grim" and urged the Home Office to speed up the decision making process so people can begin to rebuild their lives. (On the Metro: Keeping asylum seekers in hotels is 'grim', says inspector)
Dr Rhetta Moran of RAPAR said: “The Government’s ‘hostile environment’ is attempting to distract us from the many profound crises we face in housing, the cost of living, the health service etc. These crises have been manufactured through the systematic privatisation and underfunding of public services and housing and naked profiteering by a tiny minority. Their attempts to ferment xenophobia and make refugees the scapegoats is simply the latest version of divide and rule.
"At the same time as Government policies deny people seeking asylum their right to work legally, its Home Office pays the private firm Serco to ‘house and look after’ people in the asylum system. The job they have done so far is so terrible that our member has felt compelled to hunger strike. His actions are intended to demonstrate, beyond any doubt, the depth of his family’s experience of inhumane and degrading treatment at the hands of this Government appointed firm, and the utter uselessness of the complaints mechanisms that are supposed to address its failings. He must not be returned to that hotel. It is unsafe."
For more information please contact:
Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant 07865 713474
HE IS PROTESTING ABOUT CONDITIONS AND TREATMENT AT THE SERCO MANAGED ACCOMMODATION IN STOCKPORT
A man who has been living with his family at a Serco managed hotel in Stockport - which has been the subject of widespread complaints - has now been on hunger strike for 12 days, protesting about conditions at the hotel and the way Serco staff treat residents.
RAPAR sent an Open Letter to Stockport council, and the town's four MPs, after being told that Serco were not responding to residents' safeguarding and health and safety complaints. Stockport council said they shared RAPAR's concerns (see press release from 10th Nov. immediately below).
Attempts by residents to reach Migrant Help, the organisation tasked by the Home Office with relaying residents' complaints to Serco, are frequently unsuccessful and many people have given up trying. This is a UK wide problem which is not being properly acknowledged by the Home Office or Serco. (On the Guardian: ‘It just rings and rings’: Home Office helpline for asylum seekers rated inadequate)
The hopelessness of the situation and his belief that no-one was listening led one man to start a hunger strike on November 2nd. He was taken to hospital two days later after collapsing at the hotel.
RAPAR became aware of his hunger strike on November 5th, the day after he was admitted to hospital and, since then, we have been liaising with hospital staff, social workers, and medical and legal professionals. His wife, who has type 1 diabetes, has been in the same hospital since the end of October and their daughter is currently living with a family friend.
During the last week, RAPAR has become increasingly concerned about the man's health. He was given fluids through a drip but this was disconnected and he has had no fluids since the drip was removed on Friday, November 10th. If this continues, it is likely to have serious consequences for his health.
He has been told he will be returned to the hotel but both he and his wife are frightened of going back because of the abuse they say they were subjected to in the past, and RAPAR has asked Stockport council and local MPs to assist with finding alternative and safe accommodation.
He is willing to take fluids intravenously but, at the moment, the drip remains disconnected and RAPAR has grave fears for his health.
His conditions for stopping the hunger strike include the introduction of a secure and efficient mechanism for all hotel residents to report complaints and concerns. But he is also asking for the immediate cessation of any attempts by the hospital staff to return him or his wife to the hotel. He says there should be no further interaction with him or his wife about leaving the hospital unless an appropriate interpreter and a RAPAR advocate are present.
Last week, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Neal said housing people seeking asylum in hotels is "grim" and urged the Home Office to speed up the decision making process so people can begin to rebuild their lives. (On the Metro: Keeping asylum seekers in hotels is 'grim', says inspector)
Dr Rhetta Moran of RAPAR said: “The Government’s ‘hostile environment’ is attempting to distract us from the many profound crises we face in housing, the cost of living, the health service etc. These crises have been manufactured through the systematic privatisation and underfunding of public services and housing and naked profiteering by a tiny minority. Their attempts to ferment xenophobia and make refugees the scapegoats is simply the latest version of divide and rule.
"At the same time as Government policies deny people seeking asylum their right to work legally, its Home Office pays the private firm Serco to ‘house and look after’ people in the asylum system. The job they have done so far is so terrible that our member has felt compelled to hunger strike. His actions are intended to demonstrate, beyond any doubt, the depth of his family’s experience of inhumane and degrading treatment at the hands of this Government appointed firm, and the utter uselessness of the complaints mechanisms that are supposed to address its failings. He must not be returned to that hotel. It is unsafe."
For more information please contact:
Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant 07865 713474
PRESS RELEASE: 10th Nov. 2022
STOCKPORT COUNCIL SHARES RAPAR’S CONCERNS ABOUT HOTEL PROVIDING ACCOMMODATION FOR PEOPLE SEEKING ASYLUM
Stockport council has confirmed that it shares many of the concerns RAPAR raised last week about the Serco managed hotel that provides accommodation for people seeking asylum.
RAPAR sent an open letter to council leader Mark Hunter and all four Stockport MPs about a number of issues, including an outbreak of Scabies, safeguarding fears, reported abuse from Serco staff, and insufficient and inappropriate food (see open letter here).
Serco dismissed RAPAR’s anxieties, saying: “The allegations made by RAPAR are incorrect.” They claimed there were no cases of scabies, that a balanced and nutritious menu was provided, and denied that their staff treated residents with disrespect.
However, a spokeswoman for the Stockport council leader said they share RAPAR’s concerns about conditions in the hotel “where the inadequate management arrangements and resettlement planning continue to cause extremely negative consequences.”
Cllr Hunter’s office agrees that appropriate preventative arrangements are not in place at the hotel and that the model, which is designed for a high turnover, is not working.
“The asylum seekers and Stockport residents are suffering. Asylum seekers have been cooped up in a hotel for months and this inhumane treatment acts as a Petri dish for mental health issues in a cohort that are already vulnerable,” says the council leader’s statement.
Cllr Hunter adds: “We are aware that there is an outbreak of Scabies and it is because of the arrangements we have put in place that individuals are receiving treatment.”
The council leader says the authority has worked extremely hard to persuade Serco to provide more nutritional and appetising food, especially for children, by suggesting menus, supporting hotel users to provide feedback, and putting the hotel in touch with other locations where food is being managed more successfully.
“Many of the issues you have raised are those we have sought to address and progress on a regular basis with Serco and Home Office colleagues. However, there is a limit to our influence as this is a contract between the hotel and Serco on behalf of the Home Office.
“Stockport is a welcoming and inclusive borough and we are proud of how community, voluntary agencies and public sector have provided warm support to Asylum Seekers, Afghan Evacuees and Ukrainians over the past year or so.”
RAPAR had supplied photographs which showed bags of rubbish dumped in corridors and stairwells and the council leader has asked environmental health officers to visit the hotel again and review the arrangements, particularly food and hygiene. “Please be reassured we will take enforcement action if there are failings that we are empowered to act upon.”
The council leader’s statement also revealed that he wrote to the previous Home Secretary “to outline our serious concerns regarding the arrangements in place for temporary and permanent settlement of various communities within Stockport.”
He says it was the second time the council had written since the hotel was first utilised for refugees and adds: “I am afraid we have not witnessed an improvement in the conditions that asylum seekers are being housed, nor received additional funding to help the voluntary and public sector provide much needed support.”
For more information, please contact:
Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant 07865 713474
RAPAR sent an open letter to council leader Mark Hunter and all four Stockport MPs about a number of issues, including an outbreak of Scabies, safeguarding fears, reported abuse from Serco staff, and insufficient and inappropriate food (see open letter here).
Serco dismissed RAPAR’s anxieties, saying: “The allegations made by RAPAR are incorrect.” They claimed there were no cases of scabies, that a balanced and nutritious menu was provided, and denied that their staff treated residents with disrespect.
However, a spokeswoman for the Stockport council leader said they share RAPAR’s concerns about conditions in the hotel “where the inadequate management arrangements and resettlement planning continue to cause extremely negative consequences.”
Cllr Hunter’s office agrees that appropriate preventative arrangements are not in place at the hotel and that the model, which is designed for a high turnover, is not working.
“The asylum seekers and Stockport residents are suffering. Asylum seekers have been cooped up in a hotel for months and this inhumane treatment acts as a Petri dish for mental health issues in a cohort that are already vulnerable,” says the council leader’s statement.
Cllr Hunter adds: “We are aware that there is an outbreak of Scabies and it is because of the arrangements we have put in place that individuals are receiving treatment.”
The council leader says the authority has worked extremely hard to persuade Serco to provide more nutritional and appetising food, especially for children, by suggesting menus, supporting hotel users to provide feedback, and putting the hotel in touch with other locations where food is being managed more successfully.
“Many of the issues you have raised are those we have sought to address and progress on a regular basis with Serco and Home Office colleagues. However, there is a limit to our influence as this is a contract between the hotel and Serco on behalf of the Home Office.
“Stockport is a welcoming and inclusive borough and we are proud of how community, voluntary agencies and public sector have provided warm support to Asylum Seekers, Afghan Evacuees and Ukrainians over the past year or so.”
RAPAR had supplied photographs which showed bags of rubbish dumped in corridors and stairwells and the council leader has asked environmental health officers to visit the hotel again and review the arrangements, particularly food and hygiene. “Please be reassured we will take enforcement action if there are failings that we are empowered to act upon.”
The council leader’s statement also revealed that he wrote to the previous Home Secretary “to outline our serious concerns regarding the arrangements in place for temporary and permanent settlement of various communities within Stockport.”
He says it was the second time the council had written since the hotel was first utilised for refugees and adds: “I am afraid we have not witnessed an improvement in the conditions that asylum seekers are being housed, nor received additional funding to help the voluntary and public sector provide much needed support.”
For more information, please contact:
Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant 07865 713474
PRESS RELEASE: 2nd Nov. 2022:
REFUGEES RAISE SAFEGUARDING AND HEALTH CONCERNS AT STOCKPORT HOTEL
Rubbish piled in SERCO-run hotel
RAPAR'S OPEN LETTER TO COUNCIL LEADER MARK HUNTER AND GREATER MANCHESTER MAYOR ANDY BURNHAM
Refugees living in a Serco managed hotel in Stockport have raised serious safeguarding and health concerns that remain unaddressed despite numerous complaints.
RAPAR has written an open letter to Stockport council leader Mark Hunter, senior council officers and cabinet members, to draw their attention to the unsafe and unhygienic conditions at the hotel and the violation of people's rights. The letter has also been sent to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the four Stockport MPs.
The disclosure follows concerns about a similar Serco managed hotel in Manchester and recent hard-hitting criticism from the Chief Inspector of Prisons about escalating problems at the Manston short-term holding centre in Kent.
"This is a UK wide issue," says RAPAR founder Dr Rhetta Moran. "Vulnerable people, for whom raising these concerns has involved great courage, have done so out of a real desire to improve things for everyone at the hotel."
The hotel has had cases of scabies with residents living in permanent anxiety about acquiring it, and other skin complaints have been reported. Rubbish is left to pile up in stairwells and corridors and includes medical waste hazards. Residents say it is also a fire hazard but their suggestions about handling waste have been ignored.
Transport help for essential hospital appointments has been refused, including for a child with mobility challenges. Requests for interpreters have not been followed up.
Some children are not in school and this situation has not been helped by the withdrawal of school transport. Food quality is poor, unhygienic and frequently inedible. People with medical conditions are given inappropriate diets. Yet residents are banned from cooking in their rooms and the £8 per person they receive each week is not enough to cover take-outs.
Children are able to leave the building without supervision, and there have been instances of non hotel residents entering the building and posing security risks. Serco staff walk into residents' rooms without permission and sometimes without knocking. There have been reports of Serco staff shouting at children, showing disrespect towards women, and ridiculing residents who have mental health issues.
Complaints about these violations have been made to Migrant Help, which Serco and the Home Office say is the correct procedure, but nothing has been done.
Serco manages the hotel on behalf of the Home Office. Along with similar hotels throughout the UK, it is meant to be temporary accommodation while people wait for their asylum claims to be processed. But families and individuals often end up living there for long periods of time so Safeguarding and Education are the responsibility of the local authority which covers the location of the hotels.
Dr Moran adds: "Calls are mounting for the removal of the latest Home Secretary. She is the Government representative with ultimate responsibility for the safeguarding of so many people who are being 'looked after' by the State, including the people seeking asylum in the UK's processing and detention centres, dispersal hotels and houses in the communities.
"Racists love her language. It dehumanises, stokes scapegoat fires, and tries to distract our attention away from the real 'invasion' - by multinational capital. It isn't the 'refugees' or the cost of 'living' that is creating our current crisis, including the gross hotel conditions described by our members. It is the cost of 'corporate greed' that is embodied in organisations like Serco."
For more information, see the RAPAR updates section of the website.
Or contact Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant 07865 713474
Refugees living in a Serco managed hotel in Stockport have raised serious safeguarding and health concerns that remain unaddressed despite numerous complaints.
RAPAR has written an open letter to Stockport council leader Mark Hunter, senior council officers and cabinet members, to draw their attention to the unsafe and unhygienic conditions at the hotel and the violation of people's rights. The letter has also been sent to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the four Stockport MPs.
The disclosure follows concerns about a similar Serco managed hotel in Manchester and recent hard-hitting criticism from the Chief Inspector of Prisons about escalating problems at the Manston short-term holding centre in Kent.
"This is a UK wide issue," says RAPAR founder Dr Rhetta Moran. "Vulnerable people, for whom raising these concerns has involved great courage, have done so out of a real desire to improve things for everyone at the hotel."
The hotel has had cases of scabies with residents living in permanent anxiety about acquiring it, and other skin complaints have been reported. Rubbish is left to pile up in stairwells and corridors and includes medical waste hazards. Residents say it is also a fire hazard but their suggestions about handling waste have been ignored.
Transport help for essential hospital appointments has been refused, including for a child with mobility challenges. Requests for interpreters have not been followed up.
Some children are not in school and this situation has not been helped by the withdrawal of school transport. Food quality is poor, unhygienic and frequently inedible. People with medical conditions are given inappropriate diets. Yet residents are banned from cooking in their rooms and the £8 per person they receive each week is not enough to cover take-outs.
Children are able to leave the building without supervision, and there have been instances of non hotel residents entering the building and posing security risks. Serco staff walk into residents' rooms without permission and sometimes without knocking. There have been reports of Serco staff shouting at children, showing disrespect towards women, and ridiculing residents who have mental health issues.
Complaints about these violations have been made to Migrant Help, which Serco and the Home Office say is the correct procedure, but nothing has been done.
Serco manages the hotel on behalf of the Home Office. Along with similar hotels throughout the UK, it is meant to be temporary accommodation while people wait for their asylum claims to be processed. But families and individuals often end up living there for long periods of time so Safeguarding and Education are the responsibility of the local authority which covers the location of the hotels.
Dr Moran adds: "Calls are mounting for the removal of the latest Home Secretary. She is the Government representative with ultimate responsibility for the safeguarding of so many people who are being 'looked after' by the State, including the people seeking asylum in the UK's processing and detention centres, dispersal hotels and houses in the communities.
"Racists love her language. It dehumanises, stokes scapegoat fires, and tries to distract our attention away from the real 'invasion' - by multinational capital. It isn't the 'refugees' or the cost of 'living' that is creating our current crisis, including the gross hotel conditions described by our members. It is the cost of 'corporate greed' that is embodied in organisations like Serco."
For more information, see the RAPAR updates section of the website.
Or contact Dr Rhetta Moran 07776 264646
Kath Grant 07865 713474
PRESS RELEASE: 13th JULY 2022:
REFUGEES LIVING IN SERCO MANAGED HOTEL IN MANCHESTER NEED A SAFE WAY TO RAISE THEIR CONCERNS
RAPAR sends Open Letter to the City Solicitor asking for immediate action
Manchester-based Human Rights Charity RAPAR has written to Manchester City Council’s chief legal officer about conditions at a hotel housing refugees which is managed by Serco on behalf of the Home Office.
People living in the hotel desperately need to speak about their fears and anxieties - but there is no safe whistleblowing mechanism in place that allows them to do this.
In an Open Letter to City Solicitor Fiona Ledden, RAPAR spokesperson Dr Rhetta Moran says that, over the last four months, a number of people have been slowly sharing disturbing information about serious safeguarding issues.
RAPAR acknowledges that the Home Office is responsible for the contract they have with Serco, and for the agreement Serco has with the hotel for accommodation and provision of food.
“We have tried to work through formal structures to address ongoing human rights issues but it seems to us that Manchester City Council is hiding behind the contractual relationship the Home Office has with Serco to avoid acting on genuine adult and child safeguarding concerns,” Dr Moran adds.
In the Open Letter to Ms Ledden, copied to senior health officials and council staff - including council leader Bev Craig - Dr Moran says RAPAR has consistently raised concerns with the City Council as the relevant body with statutory responsibilities for the hotel residents.
In March, lack of action by the Council led RAPAR to publicise the fact that children at the hotel were being denied their right to education. Refugee pupils with no school places have lessons in Manchester car parks (guardian)
“Despite this and, as far as we are aware, there is still no systematic mechanism to ensure that this violation of children’s rights ceases for good,” Dr Moran adds.
Since then, people at the hotel have told RAPAR they are worried about:
Earlier this month, Dr Moran attended a meeting about the hotel with two senior city council officers and a representative from another third sector organisation. She was unable to discover who from Manchester City Council has named, statutory responsibility for ensuring the fundamental safeguarding of residents at the hotel.
RAPAR knows that OHID (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) is fully aware of the problems at this particular hotel and others managed by Serco across the North West and would like to know what they are doing about this public health matter.
At the meeting, the absence of a transparent, secure and accountable mechanism for reporting safeguarding issues prevented Dr Moran from sharing any primary evidence from RAPAR members who live at the hotel. “The residents are extremely vulnerable and they want to whistle blow about these safeguarding issues but they must have a secure mechanism to do so.”
On behalf of RAPAR, Dr Moran has previously sent a letter asking for a meeting with the Local Authority and Health officials to agree a mechanism for joint working. This could then be presented to the Home Office, Serco, the hotel chain management and Go To Doc which has recently replaced the local GP practice at the hotel. There was no response to this letter and it was this failure to respond that prompted the Open Letter to the City Solicitor from RAPAR.
Manchester-based Human Rights Charity RAPAR has written to Manchester City Council’s chief legal officer about conditions at a hotel housing refugees which is managed by Serco on behalf of the Home Office.
People living in the hotel desperately need to speak about their fears and anxieties - but there is no safe whistleblowing mechanism in place that allows them to do this.
In an Open Letter to City Solicitor Fiona Ledden, RAPAR spokesperson Dr Rhetta Moran says that, over the last four months, a number of people have been slowly sharing disturbing information about serious safeguarding issues.
RAPAR acknowledges that the Home Office is responsible for the contract they have with Serco, and for the agreement Serco has with the hotel for accommodation and provision of food.
“We have tried to work through formal structures to address ongoing human rights issues but it seems to us that Manchester City Council is hiding behind the contractual relationship the Home Office has with Serco to avoid acting on genuine adult and child safeguarding concerns,” Dr Moran adds.
In the Open Letter to Ms Ledden, copied to senior health officials and council staff - including council leader Bev Craig - Dr Moran says RAPAR has consistently raised concerns with the City Council as the relevant body with statutory responsibilities for the hotel residents.
In March, lack of action by the Council led RAPAR to publicise the fact that children at the hotel were being denied their right to education. Refugee pupils with no school places have lessons in Manchester car parks (guardian)
“Despite this and, as far as we are aware, there is still no systematic mechanism to ensure that this violation of children’s rights ceases for good,” Dr Moran adds.
Since then, people at the hotel have told RAPAR they are worried about:
- Their diet at the hotel which they fear is causing malnutrition among some children and severely impacting upon the health and well-being of breast-feeding mothers and infants.
- Their mental health (residents have tried to kill themselves).
- Being advised by Serco staff not to report their complaints to Migrant Help.
- The absence of any induction about fire safety arrangements or evacuation procedures. During the last four months, two fires occurred, and residents had no knowledge of fire exits or how to follow safety procedures.
- Their Freedom of Movement. Residents are not allowed to have visitors in the hotel. Attendance is required at three consecutive meals.
Earlier this month, Dr Moran attended a meeting about the hotel with two senior city council officers and a representative from another third sector organisation. She was unable to discover who from Manchester City Council has named, statutory responsibility for ensuring the fundamental safeguarding of residents at the hotel.
RAPAR knows that OHID (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) is fully aware of the problems at this particular hotel and others managed by Serco across the North West and would like to know what they are doing about this public health matter.
At the meeting, the absence of a transparent, secure and accountable mechanism for reporting safeguarding issues prevented Dr Moran from sharing any primary evidence from RAPAR members who live at the hotel. “The residents are extremely vulnerable and they want to whistle blow about these safeguarding issues but they must have a secure mechanism to do so.”
On behalf of RAPAR, Dr Moran has previously sent a letter asking for a meeting with the Local Authority and Health officials to agree a mechanism for joint working. This could then be presented to the Home Office, Serco, the hotel chain management and Go To Doc which has recently replaced the local GP practice at the hotel. There was no response to this letter and it was this failure to respond that prompted the Open Letter to the City Solicitor from RAPAR.