Council judicial review application over asylum seeker hotels refused
The High Court has refused a judicial review application from Torbay Council that argued the placement of asylum seekers in local hotels would have a significant impact on Children's Services.
Commenting on the ruling, Anne-Marie Bond, Chief Executive for Torbay Council, said the local authority felt that "unprecedented numbers [of asylum seekers] recently welcomed in Torbay warranted this challenge".
She added that the council was compelled to seek legal action because of the immediate and continued financial and resource impact on Children's Social Care, health provision and Torbay's education system.
"It needed to be highlighted and the Home Office reminded about these extra pressures placed on a unitary authority, especially a small coastal one like us," she stated.
Bond continued: "Whilst we pursued the application we have never waivered in our commitment to welcome and support those arriving in Torbay that need our help regardless of their circumstances. This includes those placed in hotels by the Home Office and unaccompanied asylum seeker children who find themselves here via the National Transfer Scheme.
"We will continue to lobby Government to ensure the financial recompense meets the needs and challenges of those who require ours and the communities response and support."
Torbay issued pre-proceedings in November of last year, advancing three grounds of argument, including that it had a legitimate expectation from the Home Office that no further hotels would be used in the area.
The second ground alleged that Home Office failed to consider the planning position, in particular the location of the hotel(s) within a Core Tourism Investment Area.
The third ground of argument contended that the Home Office failed to consider the significant impact on Children's Services caused by the use of the existing hotel for accommodating asylum seekers.
At the time, a Home Office spokesperson said: "The number of people arriving in the UK who seek asylum and require accommodation has reached record levels, placing unprecedented pressures on the asylum system.
"The Home Office and partners identify sites for accommodation based on whether they are safe and available. While we accept that hotels do not provide a long-term solution, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation, and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation during this challenging time."
The Home Office policy of placing asylum seekers in hotels has been the subject of a number of judicial review claims and injunctions.
East Lindsey District Council became the latest local authority to threaten proceedings in January when it sent a pre-action protocol letter that argued the impact of placing asylum seekers in hotels in the seaside town of Skegness was in conflict with policies in the area's local plan, which seek to protect the tourism economy.
A series of councils have also sought injunctions in attempts to block placement of asylum seekers in local hotels but the vast majority have been unsuccessful.
However, in December the High Court did grant Great Yarmouth Borough Council an extension of its interim injunction blocking asylum seekers from being placed in hotels in and around its seafront.
Adam Carey
