The UK’s immigration minister is closing down a Whitehaven hotel used to house asylum seekers.
Minister Robert Jenrick said in a statement to the House today that the Government intends to close 50 hotels used to house asylum seekers by January.
The Waverley Hotel in Whitehaven will be one of the 50 hotels to close.
Mr Jenrick also confirmed that dedicated resources were being put in place in a bid to facilitate the orderly and effective management of the process and to limit the impact on local communities.
Copeland’s MP Trudy Harrison has said she welcomes the move to close the hotel.
Mrs Harrison, added: “Further to the announcement today from Minister Robert Jenrick I am pleased that there has been a successful outcome and that the Waverley Hotel will no longer be used to house Asylum Seekers.
“I would now very much like to see the Waverley Hotel being used as a hotel to assist in the mission of ensuring that Whitehaven becomes a tourist destination of choice and that we encourage the millions of visitors that come to the Lake District to travel to the town and other areas of my constituency to enjoy and celebrate all that we have to offer.”
The minister Mr Jenrick also said hotel contracts would end in ‘all four nations of the UK’ in the coming months. Around 400 hotels were being used to house asylum seekers.
There are currently no plans in the wider UK to open new sites for the asylum seekers to move to, with them instead being moved to larger scale sites such as RAF Scampton.
The news comes as the Government attempts to reduce the cost of accommodation for people waiting for a decision on their asylum application.
The future of a Carlisle hotel which is also used to house asylum seekers is not yet known.
