Historic hotel to be closed almost all year to house refugees

A historic hotel in the UK is reportedly set to be closed almost all year to house refugees.
The Derby Midland Hotel was closed for much of 2021 along with parts of 2020. The historic hotel is said to be housing asylum seekers so is closed for business.
Councillor Graves recently commented: “Derby has lost one of its finest facilities that cannot be used for what it is intended.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported that the hotel was being “used by the Government” as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. It looks like now though it will be closed to the public for most of 2022.
The hotel has been dubbed as “the world’s oldest railway hotel” and in 1849 Queen Victoria stayed at the hotel. The situation is not ideal as asylum seekers need proper housing rather than temporary hotel accommodation.
Derby City Council previously said: “hotel accommodation is ill-suited for any person seeking asylum”.
A spokesperson for the Home Office previously commented on the use of hotels as a temporary measure during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The spokesperson said: “Since 1999, the Home Office has had a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute whilst their application for asylum is being considered.
“In response to this unprecedented public health emergency, the Home Office has had to house a number of asylum seekers in hotels as a temporary measure to ensure social distancing guidelines could be followed.
“These temporary measures are kept under constant review in line with public health guidance and we are working with local authorities to secure suitable long term accommodation.”

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