Monday, March 20, 2023

The Real People Traffickers

 Private firms are making increased profits as the government pays millions of pounds a day to put up asylum seekers in the UK.

BBC News has been told 395 hotels are being used to house asylum seekers, as arrivals to the UK rose last year.

Three large firms have contracts to run the hotels.

One, Serco, provides some 109 hotels in England mostly in the Midlands, East and North West. Serco, which also provides other services on behalf of the government, references "growth" in its immigration work in its 2022 annual report.

Another firm, Mears Group is running 80 hotels in north-east England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, increased its annual revenue by 22% in 2021. The company's annual report said the increase was "largely driven" by its work finding hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.


Calder Conferences, received £20.6m in 2021 to book hotels. That figure increased to £97m in 2022. Calder's annual accounts for the year ending February 2022 shows turnover increased from £5.98m to £23.66m. The firm's pre-tax profits trebled, from £2.1m to £6.3m. Calder's director, Debbie Hoban, saw her annual remuneration increase from £230,000 to £2.2m.


Private firms profiting from asylum hotels, BBC learns - BBC News

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