G4S female asylum seeker hostel like 'living in cells'

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities

A report has blasted a G4S-contracted hostel for female asylum seekers and their children in the North East of England, which occupants have described as like "living in cells".

John Grayson, a member of the South Yorkshire Migration & Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG), has produced a report on conditions within the St. Johnstone House Hostel in Stockton-on-Tees. Mr Grayson details interviews with women at the hostel which they describe as "like a prison with no respect for their dignity, privacy or different cultures".

G4S - the world's largest security firm - won part of the UK Border Agency's (UKBA) COMPASS (Commercial and Operational Managers Procuring Asylum Support Services project) asylum housing contract in March this year. Rival security firms Serco and Reliance also won regional COMPASS contracts, which combined are thought to be worth £600 million of taxpayers' money over the next five years.

The hostel is contracted to G4S by Jomast Developments, a family property development company.

According to the report, in 2010 the North East became the only region in the UK to have totally privatised asylum housing with one sole private housing contractor, Jomast, which had taken over the properties of a liquidated company called Kimberley. Jomast then bid for the extension of the UKBA asylum housing contracts, which campaigners claim was 38% below bids from local authorities.

Mr Grayson discovered that there are presently 30 women and 31 children under two and a half living in the hostel. He writes: "There is a very diverse group of women and children in the hostel – from China, Africa and South Asia – all with different religious and cultural practices. The hostel’s design and communal facilities are a standing insult to the women – showing contempt for the hygiene and cooking methods which they would surely ensure for themselves and their children if housed as separate households.

"The individual rooms are oppressively small with space only for beds, cots and storage, and a sink. There is no space for toddlers to play – women open their doors to allow children to cross the corridors to give them a little space. There is no space to store large toys in rooms and they are banned from corridors because they are a fire risk. All buggies are stored in a room downstairs so mothers cannot wheel them on corridors. Some children in the hostel have already spent over a year in their tiny rooms."

In response to the report, a UKBA spokesperson said: “We treat asylum seekers with dignity and respect and we expect the same from our housing providers. We regularly inspect accommodation to ensure it meets our high standards. St. Johnstone House Hostel was visited in September and met the standards we require.”

A G4S spokesman said: “We are aware of the piece that John Grayson has published but we don’t share his conclusions.  We are continuing to deliver accommodation and services across the region, including this facility, which meets the requirements and standards set down in our contract.”