The leader of Ipswich Borough Council has called for more clarity over the Government's new plans to tackle the asylum backlog and whether an Ipswich hotel would continue to be used to house asylum seekers.
David Ellesmere wanted to know whether the Novotel in Greyfriars Road would be included in the decision to end the use of hotels as accommodation as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's five-point plan to tackle the migrant crisis, announced on Wednesday.
Instead, disused holiday parks, former student halls and surplus military sites will be the preferred sites for new arrivals, but specific details of which hotels will no longer be used are yet to be unveiled.
Mr Ellesmere said: "The fact that finally, the Government is accepting that they have made a mess of this and things need to change, that is a positive, but we have had a lot of talk before from the Government about how the backlog is going to be tackled.
"There has got to be more than talk this time and even if they find accommodation they are still going to need to use hotels to house the people who come here."
Mr Ellesmere said the proposed new sites- holiday parks and student halls- might be able to provide enough space for 10,000 people, but there were more than 143,000 asylum seekers still waiting for a decision on their claims, according to Home Office figures.
In November, the High Court threw out the borough council's bid to extend an emergency injunction brought in to ban the use of the hotel to house asylum seekers.
Mr Ellesmere added: "There is a lack of clarity around this and my expectation is that we are not going to see the Home Office stopping using the Novotel any time soon. We have certainly not been given any indication that this is likely to happen."
Ipswich MP Tom Hunt has also been opposed to the use of the Novotel and had backed the injunction.
He said: “Returning the Novotel to its proper use as a four-star hotel is one of my top priorities and the prime minister’s statement yesterday made me cautiously hopeful that we could see the Novotel back as a hotel in a matter of months.
"I’ll be keeping a close eye on it, but I cautiously welcome the measures outlined.
"They go further and are more robust than I've heard before. The key will be delivery. Until the crossings stop and hotels such as the Novotel stop being used, I will continue to raise the matter every week in parliament.”
“I’ve always felt that the way to get action on the Novotel is at the national level in parliament, by putting pressure on the government and ministers.
"That’s what I’ve done.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here