Mears Group takes over Scotland’s asylum Housing contract
8 January 2019
Social housing specialist Mears Group PLC has been handed contracts worth £1bn from the UK government - a sizeable deal for a company with market capitalisation of less than £400mln. As part of the contract, Mears will be responsible for the upkeep of thousands of homes occupied by asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be processed.
Mears board members
The deal is for ten years and covers homes in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber.
Chief Executive of Mears, David Miles said:
“We are delighted to have secured these contracts having already allocated significant time and resources to this.We will immediately start work on the mobilisation so that we are ready to meet the needs of asylum seekers and their host communities.”
The new Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASCs) are replacing the current COMPASS contracts, which were awarded back in 2012.
Fellow outsourcer Serco Group PLC has also been awarded asylum contract worth £1.9bn, which will see it look after asylum housing in the North West of England and the Midlands & East of England.
In August, Serco announced a pause on the plans in the face of legal challenges against the evictions at the Court of Session and Glasgow Sheriff Court. However, asylum seekers are still receiving letters from Serco saying they must leave their homes.
Robina Qureshi, Director of Positive Action in Housing said:
“It’s an interesting development that SERCO “lost” the Scotland contract but won millions of pounds worth of asylum housing contracts elsewhere across England. It’s possible SERCO gave up the Scotland contract because of the public outcry against turning vulnerable people and families onto the streets without following due process.
“SERCO’s contract doesn’t end until September 2019. The court of Session hearing later this month is ongoing, the human rights of new refugees and asylum seekers at varying stages of the asylum process remains pertinent.
“Its a bit premature to welcome the new contract awarded to Mears Group - the history of private run asylum contracts in this city is about the abuse of human rights.
"Certainly we would like to get a copy of the Mears Group eviction or lock out policy. It would be good to know how much the Mears Group is being paid per night for each person seeking asylum or granted refugee status or leave to remain. We’d also like to be assured that both private and social landlord bodies in Scotland will ensure that their contracts with Mears Group prohibits changes to fixtures and fittings, ie lock changes.
Mears group is described as the second biggest social housing “specialist” in the UK employing over 12,000 people. We will watch with interest to see if they follow through on the basic principles of social housing when it comes to the housing of new refugees and asylum seekers at varying stages of the legal process.
More:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17343483.serco-loses-housing-contract-after-threatening-to-evict-glasgow-asylum-seekers/
https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/17343266.serco-stripped-of-home-officer-asylum-seeker-housing-contract-for-glasgow/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/01/08/g4s-loses-asylum-seeker-housing-contracts-serco-mears/
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2019/01/08/serco-loses-asylum-housing-contract-in-scotland-after-lock-change-row/
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/outsourcers-win-29bn-of-asylum-seeker-accommodation-contracts-59660
https://www.thenational.scot/news/17343469.serco-loses-contract-for-asylum-seeker-housing-in-scotland/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46801589
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/212156/mears-bags-1bn-asylum-housing-contract-from-uk-government-212156.html
https://theferret.scot/serco-loses-contract-asylum-seekers-scotland/
NOTES:
The new asylum accommodation contract statement of requirements are now available online.
(source:http://www.emcouncils.gov.uk/write/Asylum_Accommodation_and_Support_Statement_of_requirements.pdf )
UKVI is currently tendering for the new asylum accommodation provider with the contract due to be awarded in December 2018.
There will then be a “transition period” of 9 months with the new contract operational from the 1st of September 2019 and is for a 10 year period terminating on the 1st of September 2029
( Home Office AAST briefing note November 2017 page 5 , source :https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Home%20Office_AAST%20Briefing%20Note%20November%202017_FINAL.pdf)