Asylum seekers played football and enjoyed a barbecue as part of a Labour council’s efforts to become a “borough of sanctuary”.
Southwark council in London is aiming to become a “borough of sanctuary” for asylum seekers by introducing a number of new initiatives.
As a result, the local authority is increasing housing, education, health and financial support services, and “embedding a culture of welcome” for all new asylum seekers, regardless of their immigration status.
One initiative run by the council included a football match between asylum seekers living in two different asylum hotels in June 2024.
The match was followed by a barbecue and Eritrean coffee served for free.
Jason Vincent, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lead for Millwall community trust, said: “It was important to be able to bring together the players who were able to meet for the first time and play football.”
The Southwark Sanctuary Framework, which is set to run until 2027, also saw the council promise to lobby Labour to remove restrictions which stop asylum seekers from working before they are granted refugee status.
Currently, asylum seekers are banned from working for at least the first year of their claim.
Southwark council in London is aiming to become a ‘borough of sanctuary’ for asylum seekers
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However, Southwark council said: “[We will] lobby the Government to reform, [ensuring] people are no longer blocked from fully participating in society for years while they wait for their status to be resolved.”
According to a document produced by Southwark council, 40 per cent of those residing in the area where born outside of the UK while some 2,363 asylum seekers in the region were receiving state support.
As part of its strategy for migrants, the council worked with community groups in order “to harness public support to help and support refugee, migrants and asylum seekers in Southwark”.
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A football match was played between two asylum hotels in the area
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GETTY
It also said it would challenge “anti-refugee and anti-migrant attitudes where they are found”.
Earlier this year, a £100,000 four-year grant scheme was introduced by the authority for voluntary organisations which work with “asylum seekers and disadvantaged migrants”.
The library service in Southwark was the first in London to be given official Library of Sanctuary status with branches in the area offering free membership to refugees and asylum seekers.
Books in Arabic, Pashtu, Farsi, Albanian and Spanish are stocked in the library, which also offers a variety of sessions from toddler playgroups to IT training.
Chris Philp accused the Labour council of having ‘lost the plot’
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Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, said: “Illegal immigrants should not be housed in hotels costing taxpayers billions and have football matches arranged.
“This Labour council has lost the plot. The Conservative plan is to deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival – not put them up in cushy hotels.
“Then the illegal immigration and asylum madness would end.
He added: “Doing this would require the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. But Labour is too weak to do this, and the record number of illegal immigrants crossing the channel will continue under Labour.”
