We are back after almost two months of summer break.

In the UK, 105,522 people are living in what is called ‘asylum accommodation’. Of these, 56,029 are in what’s referred to as dispersal accommodation, and 49,493 are in temporary or ‘contingency’ accommodation in hotels. The legislation governs this are sections 98, 95, and 4 of the 1999 Immigration Act, which states that people who claim asylum in the UK should be provided with accommodation to prevent them from becoming homeless. Instead of providing housing through local authorities or housing associations, the Home Office has outsourced accommodation provision to private providers who operate on a profit-based model. Since 2019, three companies have held these contracts – Mears, Serco and Clearsprings Ready Homes. Although they carry out immigration functions and have statutory responsibilities, private providers aim to generate profit. The largest of these providers is Serco, a company specialising in prisons and detention, operating six adult prisons in the UK.

Tara Povey hosts this episode with panellists ⁠Dr Jonathan Darling⁠ , Elika Ansari, Raman and Daisy (not her real name), and they dismantle the UK dispersal policy and share their insights and personal experiences of dispersal accommodation.

Books mentioned in this episode are:

1- Systems of Suffering: Dispersal and the Denial of Asylum by Dr Jonathan Darling

2- The Five Stages of Moria: The Worst Refugee Camp on Earth by Elika Ansari

Azadeh Hosseini, the Communication and engagement officer at Refugee Action, produced and edited this episode.

If you like to take action, fight the hostile environment and support asylum seekers, please visit ⁠⁠Refugee Action.⁠⁠

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