South Cambridgeshire hotel designated for asylum seekers by the Home Office
The Home Office informed the Council in February 2023 of their intention to use the Bar Hill Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers, as part of a national programme to provide housing whilst asylum applications are processed and determined. Since the announcement, we have worked closely with partners to ensure the local community has been kept informed. The Council has now been advised by the Home Office that the use of the hotel for this purpose will come to an end in the coming months.
Frequently asked questions
The Home Office informed us that would be using the hotel as temporary accommodation. Hotels are being used across the country. Arrangements at the hotel are being managed by a Home Office contractor – in this case, Serco.
The Home Office makes the decision on which properties are used. Local councils were informed that the Home Office had selected the hotel in South Cambridgeshire for this purpose.
We receive a small amount of funding from the Home Office for liaison and response co-ordination. This is also used to help ensure support can be provided for those who have their asylum application granted whilst they transition to more settled and permanent accommodation.
Who stays at a hotel is based on need and pressures within the asylum system. This information is held by the Home Office. The Home Office has informed local councils that this hotel is being used to accommodate families and single women.
We have now been notified by the Home Office that they will cease the use of the Bar Hill Hotel for asylum seeker accommodation in the coming months, likely by the end of June. People will be moved to dispersed accommodation or other hotels across the country as spaces become available.
Some hotel guests will be moved on to other temporary dispersed accommodation provided by central government whilst their claim for asylum is considered and some will have their status determined while still in the hotel. This is down to the Home Office discretion. The allocated accommodation could be anywhere in the country. This accommodation is not provided by us.
Where asylum is granted, people are recognised as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention and are allowed to remain in the UK for 5 years.
Where the Home Office grants asylum, people will be given a Residence Permit; an identity document allowing the person to work, study, access public funds and find a place to live.
There is no rule to say people must settle where they have been staying while seeking asylum. However, if they do decide they wish to stay in the South Cambridgeshire area they will need to register with us as homeless and they will be treated the same as any other homeless residents in South Cambridgeshire. Homelessness applications will be processed and issues by the same criteria as everyone else’s. More information can be found on our homelessness advice webpage.
No, they will only be living in the main hotel. Once their asylum application is determined there will be no preferential treatment to house people in the flats, or any other accommodation, and those granted asylum will need to register as homeless.
People housed at the hotel have the right be able to register at a local GP surgery. There is no preferential treatment for hotel guests and patient access is based on clinical need.
Yes. Children residing at the hotel who are of statutory school age are entitled to access education. Applications for school places have, and will continue, to follow the standard school admission process and places will be allocated in the local area.
The contractors, Serco, are providing additional staff to ensure appropriate 24-hour, 7 days a week, on-site security cover for the asylum seekers. Guests at the hotel can come and go from the hotel as they please.
Asylum seekers are not able to claim welfare benefits.
Asylum seekers in hotel accommodation are provided with meals and limited hotel services and currently receive approx. £9.10 per week from the Home Office.
They may be eligible to apply for permission to work in the UK if they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum application for more than 12 months, provided that any delays in processing were not their responsibility. Additionally, if their asylum application was previously refused, they can request permission to work if they have submitted further evidence related to their claim, and it has been over 12 months without a decision, provided they are not responsible for the delay.
The golf club will continue to be available for golf club members and visitors. No other facilities or areas at the hotel will be open to the public. The swimming pool has not reopened to the public since closing for the first Covid lockdown in March 2020. Both the swimming pool and gym are not available to the public or the asylum seekers.
They can be contacted on public.enquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk or 020 7035 4848.