Clearing asylum backlog ‘created another crisis’ as refugees left homeless, charities say
Hassan came to the UK on a boat across the English Channel. Now he is sleeping rough on a Liverpool housing estate.
“Where should I go? What should I do?” he asks me, as he clears out his rain-soaked tent, which he’s pitched under some trees near to a row of semi-detached houses.
A sleeping bag he’s had since he left Calais, the last stop until Britain for more than 30,000 migrants this year, is ringing wet.
“This country is no good for asylum,” he says trying to pack his things into plastic bags.
“When you have a problem, you wait a long time for nothing.”
Hassan fled Iraq last year and travelled through Europe to reach Britain.
But his hopes of a new life have long faded.
“I have no money. No anything,” he says.
Nick Martin speaking to Hassan, who has had his asylum application denied
His asylum application was rejected on a technicality, but he is able to reapply. With no phone and no address however, it seems impossible.
A local resident spots us filming and walks quickly towards us, and we witness first hand why immigration is set to become a key issue in the next general election.
“This isn’t happening,” the resident says pointing at the tent angrily.
“We don’t want this around here. You’ve got all the neighbours worried. Imagine this is your house and your kids are playing in the garden, and you’ve got him camping here.
“You better get it moved tonight,” he shouts.
His anger is understandable. Hassan doesn’t want to be here.
But as the government has openly admitted, the asylum system in Britain is broken. This depressing scene on a housing estate brings that into clear focus.
We’ve come to Liverpool because the council here is pleading for the government to step in and help.
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Selma, a refugee who’s come here from Sudan on a family reunion visa and is now homeless
Liverpool City Council says it is dealing with an “unprecedented homelessness problem” and says a big part of that is a sudden influx of asylum seekers.
They blame the government’s move to accelerate the processing of asylum claims to clear the backlog by the end of the year.
When people are given refugee status, they are no longer eligible for asylum seeker accommodation – but there is nowhere to go.
Around £6m a year has been spent housing asylum seekers in hotels and hostels while claims are processed.
And earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government had reduced the backlog from 92,000 to 20,000.
Now cities like Liverpool say that has put them under “enormous pressure” as requests for housing are on the rise at a time when housing stock is already at a premium.
The city council told Sky News that it currently spends around £11m per year on asylum seekers and refugees in the region.
Nationally, there are 1.2 million people waiting for social housing, according to the charity Shelter.
Ewan Roberts, from Asylum Link, an organisation set up to offer help and advice to asylum seekers, says clearing the backlog has had negative knock-on effects.
Asylum Link Merseyside’s centre manager Ewan Roberts
“People are coming through the system so quickly now with leave to remain. They’re recognised as refugees, but there’s no accommodation for them.
“The government has pushed the burden on to somebody else.
“Whether that’s the voluntary sector or local authorities or other statutory homelessness services.
“They might have solved one problem, but they’ve created another.”
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Alfadal, 31, who is homeless and sleeps with his wife at a train station
Alfadal, 31, has lived in the UK for four years. His 21-year-old wife Selma has recently been allowed to join him here under a family reunion visa.
But they are homeless because he claims the council say they are not a priority.
“I went to the train station. I sleep there,” he said.
“I don’t have any place to take my wife. I’m afraid for her.”
Government and Labour wrestle with asylum
Immigration is shaping up to be one of the key issues ahead of the general election and the government’s handling of the issue will be seen as critical.
Labour is facing the dilemma of being seen as tough enough by former red wall seats but also compassionate by the other wing of its supporters.
So far, Sir Keir Starmer has committed to lowering migration but has not given any specific target.
It has been a turbulent few weeks for the Conservative Party. The Supreme Court ruling that plans to send migrants to Rwanda were illegal was a major setback.
But in response, the prime minister published emergency legislation that would declare Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers and push through their controversial deportation policy.
Rishi Sunak has faced a row within the Tories over his Rwanda bill, with some calling for it to override the ECHR
A government spokesperson said: “We have always met our legal obligations by providing support and accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
“As the legacy backlog reduces, we continue to work with local authorities to manage the impact of asylum decisions and support is available on moving on from asylum support accommodation through Migrant Help and their partners.”
“Through our Rough Sleeping Strategy, we will continue to work not just to reduce rough sleeping but to end it completely. Some £2bn have been provided to councils to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.”
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A group of refugees and asylum seekers waiting to get housing advice at Asylum Link Merseyside, Liverpool
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: “Liverpool, like many local authorities, has been placed under immense pressure by the government’s decision to shift the burden from central to local government without proper planning and consultation.
“As a result we have written to the government to ask for additional help and support as well as co-operation to phase the decisions to enable us to find sustainable solutions.
“We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and have increased capacity in our frontline services to address these issues.
“Our current spend on asylum seekers and refugees is in the region of £11m per year.”
NHS league tables revealing failing NHS trusts and cancelled pay rises or dismissal for managers who don’t turn things around are to form part of the government’s plans to improve the health service.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is confirming new measures he hopes will boost failing hospital trusts and encourage successful ones.
The changes form part of the Labour government’s strategy to reduce waiting lists “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.
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Health and the state of the NHS were consistently among the most important issues for voters at this year’s general election – with Labour blaming the Conservatives for “breaking” it.
As health is a devolved area, any reforms proposed in Westminster would only apply to England.
Chief among Mr Streeting’s proposals is a “league table” for NHS trusts.
An announcement from the Department for Health and Social Care said: “NHS England will carry out a no-holds-barred sweeping review of NHS performance across the entire country, with providers to be placed into a league table.
“This will be made public and regularly updated to ensure leaders, policy-makers and patients know which improvements need to be prioritised.”
It also promises to replace “persistently failing managers” – with “turn around teams” being sent in to improve trusts running sizeable deficits or offering poor service to patients.
The government says “senior managers” who fail to make progress will not be eligible for pay rises.
There will be “financial implications” for more senior figures such as chief executives if their trust does not improve.
On the flip-side, those trusts that are deemed to be “high-performing” will get “greater freedom over funding and flexibility”.
Senior leaders at these trusts will also be “rewarded”.
The government says the current system is not incentivising trusts to run a budget surplus, as they cannot benefit from it.
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NHS reform: ‘Be careful what you wish for’
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Mr Streeting said: “The budget showed this government prioritises the NHS, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.
“Today we are announcing the reforms to make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent and cuts waiting times for patients.
“There’ll be no more turning a blind eye to failure. We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in.
“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.
“With the combination of investment and reform, we will turn the NHS around and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Concerns from health representatives
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is critical that responsibility comes with the necessary support and development.
“The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”
Further plans on how monitoring will be published by the start of the next financial year in April 2025, the government said.
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation – a body that represents all NHS trusts – said healthcare leaders welcome the “government’s ambition”.
However, he said he was concerned league tables and reducing pay may “strip out” the nuance of what’s going on.
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Mr Taylor said: “NHS staff are doing their very best for patients under very challenging circumstances and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed.
“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement, trusts struggling with consistent performance issues – some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population heath and staff shortages – need to be identified and supported in order to recover.”
UK
Princess of Wales’s annual carol concert to focus on ‘how much we need others in difficult times’
The Princess of Wales will host her Christmas carol concert this year, reflecting on “how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives”.
The service, which has become an annual festive event for Kate, will take place on the 6 December at Westminster Abbey, as part of her return to public duties after finishing her chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.
In September, the princess said her focus is “doing what I can to stay cancer-free”.
Last week, Prince William described how the past year had been “brutal” and probably “the hardest year in my life”, with his father, the King, also receiving cancer treatment.
Both the King and Kate joined other members of the Royal Family for the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday.
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Princess of Wales at Remembrance Sunday
Announcing the date of the Together At Christmas carol service, Kensington Palace said: “This year’s service provides a moment to reflect upon the importance of love and empathy, and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives.
“The service will shine a light on individuals from all over the UK who have shown love, kindness and empathy towards others in their communities.”
The Princess of Wales’s family at the service in 2021. Pic: PA
It will be the fourth time Kate has staged the carol service, which is supported by her and her husband’s Royal Foundation.
Around 1,600 people will be invited to sing carols and see musical performances by stars including Paloma Faith, Olivia Dean and Gregory Porter.
Those who have supported others, either on a personal level with friends and family or through their work or volunteering, have been nominated to attend.
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Kate ‘doing really well’
The palace added that this year Kate “wanted to celebrate the many people supporting those in need – individuals who have inspired, counselled, comforted, and above all else shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive”.
The theme takes inspiration from the Christmas story, “which encourages us to consider the experiences of others and the important human need of giving and receiving empathy”.
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Across the UK, 15 Together At Christmas community carol services will also be held, including at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and Blackpool Tower Circus.
The event will be filmed as part of a special programme which will air on ITV and ITVX on Christmas Eve.
Fines of £10,000 for social media bosses who don’t remove illegal knife adverts are being considered by the government.
The proposals are part of attempts by Labour to fulfil their promise to halve knife crime levels in the next decade.
The Home Office wants to introduce the measures to stop the “unacceptable use of social media and online marketplaces to market illegal weapons and glorify violence” and ensure content is quickly removed.
Under the plans, police would be empowered to issue warnings to senior officials at online companies and demand specific adverts and content be removed – potentially within two days.
A second notice could then be given if action is not taken – with senior executives “personally liable” for a “significant fine” if nothing is done.
While the exact scale of the financial penalty has not been confirmed, a consultation suggested £10,000 for the worst offenders, according to the PA news agency.
Sir Keir Starmer previously spoke of his desire to make buying knives online harder.
In September, he hosted a meeting of a new anti-knife crime coalition including actor Idris Elba and bereaved families, among others.
Elba told the meeting: “Talk is good, but action is important.”
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Idris Elba: ‘Talk is good, action is more important’
As well as reducing the sale of knives online, the government also wants to change the law around ninja swords.
Work is currently ongoing to decide a definition of the weapons.
It comes on the back of campaigning by Pooja Kanda, the mother of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda.
Ronan was killed in Wolverhampton by two 17-year-olds in 2022, who used a weapon purchased online under an alias and collected from a Post Office.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said perpetrators “must face the full force of the law” as she announced the “tough new sanctions”, adding: “The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country.
“That’s why this government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we’re taking determined action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets.”
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Home Sec vows to halve knife crime
Commander Stephen Clayman, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on knife crime and is also heading a review of online sales of the weapons for the Home Office, said: “For far too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online, with content promoting their use for protection and combat rife on many platforms and seemingly little being done to remove it.
“We welcome the chance to take part in the consultation and explore the most effective means of achieving this, including using the findings of the ongoing online sales review.”
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