Asylum seekers: Scabies and abuse at Stockport hotel, council claims

Residents astatine a edifice accommodating asylum seekers faced a scabies outbreak and "inhumane treatment", a assembly and a foundation person claimed.

Stockport Council said radical were "cooped up" astatine an unnamed edifice successful the municipality for a fig of months, with immoderate residents being treated for scabies.

Human rights foundation Rapar said piles of rubbish were near successful corridors and insects were recovered successful food.

Serco, which runs the hotel, said determination were "currently nary cases of scabies".

The steadfast told BBC North West Tonight that discarded was removed daily, a balanced and nutritious paper was served and unit treated residents with respect.

Council person Mark Hunter said the municipality had "provided lukewarm enactment to asylum seekers, Afghan evacuees and Ukrainians implicit the past twelvemonth oregon so", but some edifice residents and locals were "suffering" owed to conditions astatine the site.

"Asylum seekers person been cooped up… for months and this inhumane attraction acts arsenic a Petri crockery for intelligence wellness issues successful a cohort that are already vulnerable," helium said.

"We are alert that determination is an outbreak of scabies and it is due to the fact that of the arrangements we person enactment successful spot that individuals are receiving treatment."

However, helium said the authority's power was constricted due to the fact that the residents were determination arsenic portion of "a declaration betwixt the edifice and Serco connected behalf of the Home Office".

"We're moving intimately with Serco, the Home Office and different voluntary agencies to assistance those radical successful need," helium said.

He said the assembly had besides "expressed concerns to cardinal government, arsenic we don't deliberation this is the close mode to bash things" and the authorization believed excessively galore radical were being kept successful 1 determination "with inadequate fiscal and different enactment for already stretched services".

A Rapar typical said determination had been "an outbreak of scabies, safeguarding fears, reported maltreatment from Serco unit and insufficient and inappropriate food".

In an open missive to the council, the Manchester-based foundation listed a ample fig of concerns astir cleaning, security, unit behaviour, food, acquisition and state of question astatine the hotel.

Serco declined to remark connected the letter, but a typical said that they could "confirm that determination are presently nary cases of scabies astatine this hotel".

The Home Office said the fig of radical arriving successful the UK who necessitate accommodation had "reached grounds levels and has enactment our asylum strategy nether unthinkable strain".

"The usage of hotels is simply a short-term solution and we are moving hard with section authorities to find due accommodation," a typical said.