Crick Community Meeting- Asylum Seekers

On Friday 25th November I held a community meeting in Crick with local residents, West Northamptonshire Council, Crick Parish Council, and other local stakeholders to discuss the Rugby Ibis East hotel matter.

This page will provide information about the situation in Crick, what was discussed at the meeting, and any further updates I receive from the Home Office. This page also includes new information announced today (13/12/22) from the Prime Minister about what more the Government is doing to address the Channel crossings. 

As ever, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on chris.heatonharris.mp@parliament.uk.

Ibis Rugby East, Crick

In September, the Home Office contracted the Ibis Rugby East to accommodate 160 single adult male asylum seekers and contracted Serco to manage the hotel on a daily basis. It is believed that the Ibis will be used for this purpose for the entire duration of the 12-month contract. 

The hotel is a private arrangement between the Home Office, Ibis Hotels, and Serco. The Council and Crick Parish Council are, however, attending weekly partnership meetings to see how they can support the community. 

On 21st October I met with Home Office officials to discuss my objections to the hotel and discuss several concerns, including reports of anti-social behaviour, use of the park and shops, the lack of activities at the hotel itself, the lack of transport, overcrowding at the local medical practice and more. I also discussed West Northants Council's ongoing obligation to other asylum seeker or bridging hotels (Flore), as well as 500 Ukrainian refugees. 

The Home Office have repeatedly informed me that they have a statutory duty to provide accommodation for those seeking asylum in this country. However, I made it clear in my October meeting, and since, my below objections to using Crick.

Geographical Location: 

• The Rugby Ibis East is more than a mile from the centre of the village and the nearest bus route, making it difficult for the asylum seekers to access services. 
• The hotel is in close proximity to the M1 and A5, both extremely busy roads, as well as DIRFT which is unsuitable to live near. 

Anti-Social Behaviour Concerns

• I know that several people have concerns about anti-social behaviour and the increased police presence in the village. These have been addressed by Chief Inspector Pete Basham further down on this update. 

Transport: 

• The Home Office has noted that in rural locations, their service providers (Serco) should implement a robust strategy which covers everything from provision of transport through to maximising on-site facilities for leisure, recreation and pastoral care to minimise the impact on the community. 
• During my October meeting it was noted that transport from the hotel to nearby towns of Daventry and Rugby could be explored and I will continue to follow this up as a possibility. This robust strategy for rural areas is not what we are necessarily seeing on the ground and is something I will continue to raise with Serco and the Home Office. 

Crick Medical Practice: 

• The Crick medical practice is small and already serves the entirety of Crick and the surrounding villages. Adding an additional 160 residents is going to create further strain. 

Security at the Hotel: 

• There have been a number of concerns put to me regarding security at the hotel. All asylum seekers undergo security checks against immigration and police databases to identify those who may have been involved in criminality here or abroad. 
• Asylum seekers granted accommodation are not detained and can come and go as they please. Movement in and out of contingency sites is monitored, however, and missing person procedures are followed if there are concerns in that area. 

Community Meeting Key Points

Community Support and Facilities

• Crick Church is running an English language school at the Old School for residents at the hotel to attend. The lessons are in their infancy, however I will be working with Serco to ensure these are promoted within the hotel. 
• Crick Parish Council have spare table-top games, however Serco have not yet agreed to have these at the hotel in a dedicated space. I will be following this up with Serco. 
• The Vicar's wife has raised an incredible £2500 to buy key items and recreational activities such as winter coats, footballs and shoes. 
• The Church will be looking at community cohesion events such as cultural cooking evenings in the future. 

Anti-Social Behaviour Reports

Chief Inspector Pete Basham was in attendance and reported the following: 

• There have been 3 low level crimes involving service users and these were all contained on-site. 
• There have been 4 ASB reports from Crick residents: 
  • 2 involving photos being taken of children at the park
  • 1 report of a male defecating in the bushes
  • 1 report of a group walking from the hotel to the village not using the path properly which resulted in verbal abuse when approached

The Chief Inspector made it clear that residents must report all incidents to the police to help them build a picture of what is happening and where to direct resources.

If you need support immediately, please call 999. If you've witnessed or been the victim of a crime please report it online or by calling 101. 

Prime Minister's announcement on tackling illegal immigration- 13/12/22

Over 40,000 people have illegally crossed the Channel in small boats this year. This is unfair on those who come here legally, unfair on those who have a genuine asylum claim, and unfair on the British people who play by the rules. Despite strong efforts already, it is clear that we need to do more to tackle this issue. That is why today, the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are setting out 5 new steps: 

1. A new agreement with Albania so that the vast majority of Albanian claimants can be removed- with weekly flights until all Albanians in our backlog are sent home.  

2. A new, permanent, unified Small Boats Operational Command in the channel with 700 new staff.  

3. Tougher immigration enforcement with 200 new staff and better data sharing with banks 

4. Cheaper accommodation sites so we can move migrants out of expensive hotels 

5. Clear the initial asylum backlog by 2023 by doubling the number of caseworkers and radically streamlining the process.  

I will continue to update this page with further information (with the relevant date). However, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch at chris.heatonharris.mp@parliament.uk.