Ripped up seats in the communal area

AFTER arriving in the UK, asylum seekers must wait for their claims to be processed. During this time, the Home Office will house them in “dispersal accommodation”, often cramped rooms shared between multiple people.

The original intention was that applicants wait no more than six months to be either approved or denied, but a huge backlog has meant many are left waiting for years for a decision.

The Refugee Council projected that the asylum backlog would stand at more than 118,000 this month.

This also means that asylum seekers must live in temporary accommodation – that includes hotels or hostels – for much longer than intended.

Many have said they would be able to cope with living in the overcrowded conditions if they knew it was only temporary, but waiting with no end in site makes it insufferable.

Meanwhile, the Home Office pays private contractors many millions of pounds to manage the running of these hotels. Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd is one of these companies, operating in London, the South of England, and Wales.