ONE of Warrington’s MPs has spoken in Parliament asking for an update on the town’s migrant hotels.
Warrington currently has three hotels accommodating migrants having illegally entered the UK, having crossed the English Channel by small boat.
Paddington House Hotel was the first to close to the public, followed by Fir Grove Hotel in Grappenhall and Holiday Inn in Woolston.
More migrants are also being housed at nearby Daresbury Park Hotel.
In October, the Government announced that the first 50 hotels across the UK would stop housing immigrants by the end of January.
Speaking in Parliament, Warrington South MP Andy Carter asked: “What recent progress he has made on reducing the backlog of asylum applications?”
In response, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Last year we cleared the equivalent of 90,000 legacy claims and processed a total of more than 112,000 claims—the largest volume in two decades.
“The total asylum backlog is now at its lowest point since December 2022.
“The improvement of processes continues, and we will continue to review and improve them to accelerate the decision making from here on in.”
Mr Carter then asked a follow-up question, stating: “I am grateful to the Home Secretary for that update, but there are still four hotels in and around Warrington housing asylum seekers.
“Will he give us an update on the closing of hotels, and will he also tell us what steps he is taking to speed up the processing of refugees when they are in hotels awaiting the outcome of their claims?”
Addressing this, the Home Secretary said: “My honourable friend made an important link between the speed of asylum processing and the need for asylum accommodation in various forms, including hotels.
“We are moving away from using hotels as that type of accommodation, thus reducing the cost to the public purse, and we will maintain recruitment levels and improve processes so that the speed of processing that we are seeing now can be continued.
“Although I cannot make commitments about the specific hotels in my honourable friend’s constituency, he should rest assured that we are seeking to drive down the number of hotels on which we rely.”
