Statement read out at Area Board meeting on Wednesday 18/1/23 reference Asylum Seekers in RWB

“We have a number of single adult males staying at the Home Office contingency spot booking hotel, The Wiltshire Hotel, in Royal Wootton Bassett. This has been arranged by the Home Office, and Wiltshire Council is not required to provide support. This is a hotel to accommodate asylum seekers for a short period of time from a few days up to a maximum of 90 days. The asylum seekers are from a number of countries. A spot booking hotel is when placements are expected to be short term before individuals are moved to dispersal accommodation anywhere in the country. The Government has determined that every local authority area must take a proportion of asylum seekers. ClearSprings Ready Homes is the contracted provider for the Home Office who procure the dispersal accommodation.

“We are working with our partners to meet any statutory requirements associated with this and are also liaising with the Home Office. The hotel is providing accommodation with security and welfare staff on hand provided by ClearSprings. The Prime Minister has committed to fully exploring alternative sites to hotels for asylum seekers and we will keep you updated, as circumstances change and develop.”

For those wanting to donate we will be looking to the community to help out with specific items and will update in due course.

We have a number of FAQs about the hotel on our website here - Asylum seekers contingency accommodation - Wiltshire Council