A sustainable approach to housing asylum seekers is needed - The Yorkshire Post says

While it is important to avoid dehumanising asylum seekers - many of whom will have fled untold horrors, it is also important that a rational approach is taken to processing and housing asylum seekers.

To simply drop asylum seekers into a situation where they lack the support and the infrastructure is unable to cope would not only be unfair on the communities where they would be housed but also on the asylum seekers themselves.

The fact that PD Ports, which runs Teesport, is saying that it cannot see how public services would be able to provide suitable accommodation for asylum seekers there suggests the Government’s plans to accommodate people seeking asylum on barges need to be better thought through.

People on Teesside have urged PD Ports to refuse to take part in any Government plans to accommodate people seeking asylum on a barge at Teesport.

The Government can’t simply expect to put asylum seekers on a barge and expect that to be the end of the issue.

It’s not just barges. Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood and the city’s council have written Home Secretary to urgently oppose the Government’s irresponsible plans to double the number of unsupported asylum seekers being housed at a hotel in Wakefield. The objection in Wakefield also comes down to the suitability of the location. It isn’t just about putting a roof over the heads of these people but also ensuring that the wider infrastructure can cope. At this point it must be acknowledged that every MP should not be tempted to simply reject plans out of hand. But with bridging accommodation set to be wound down, the Government needs holistic a plan on housing asylum seekers.