Dear Home Secretary / Permanent Secretary,
We are writing to express serious concern following a recent incident in the vicinity of Laleham C of E Primary School, which has caused understandable anxiety among parents, residents and the wider community.
A man was arrested after concerning behaviour near the school. We recognise that police investigations must be allowed to proceed properly, and we do not seek to prejudice that process. However, the incident has brought into sharp focus wider concerns about accommodation arrangements in the immediate vicinity of sensitive community locations, including schools.
Questions are now being asked locally as to whether a nearby HMO is being used, directly or indirectly, for Home Office accommodation purposes, and if so, on what basis? If central government or its contractors are placing individuals into properties within residential communities, particularly in small villages and near schools, it is essential that there is proper liaison with the relevant local authority and proper regard to safeguarding, suitability and community impact.
Laleham is a small and close-knit village. It is not an anonymous urban setting. It has a primary school at its heart and a very strong sense of community. Decisions affecting accommodation in such a location cannot simply be taken remotely, without proper local awareness and without any regard to the character and sensitivity of the area.
Spelthorne Borough Council has already experienced significant growth in HMOs and has responded through planning policy measures, including an Article 4 Direction and an HMO strategy. In that context, it is entirely reasonable for local representatives and residents to expect transparency where properties are being used for accommodation commissioned or facilitated by central government.
The Home Office cannot expect councils and communities to deal with the consequences of placements on the ground while withholding the basic information needed to assess local suitability and safeguarding risk. Where accommodation decisions are imposed on communities without transparency or local consultation, public confidence is damaged and residents will inevitably conclude that their concerns are being ignored.
We therefore ask for an urgent response to the following points:
Whether this property is, or has been, used under any Home Office or Home Office-contracted accommodation arrangement?
Whether Spelthorne Borough Council was informed or consulted in any way regarding such use?
What safeguarding, risk-assessment and suitability checks are undertaken before accommodation is used close to a school or in another sensitive location?
Whether licensing, planning status and local policy context are taken into account before a property is approved for such use?
What mechanism exists for local authorities and local Members of Parliament to raise objections where a location is plainly unsuitable?
Whether you will now review the appropriateness of any such placement in Laleham?
This is not a theoretical issue. Community confidence has been shaken. Parents want reassurance, and local residents want to know that decisions of this nature are being made lawfully, transparently and with proper regard to public safety and safeguarding.
National government has a duty not simply to procure accommodation, but to do so in a way that commands public confidence and does not place disproportionate strain on particular communities. If local authorities are expected to manage the consequences on the ground, they must at the very least be kept properly informed and have a meaningful route to raise concerns.
We would be grateful for an urgent written reply.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr John Boughtflower
Leader of the Conservative Group, Spelthorne Borough Council on behalf of all Conservative Cllrs at Spelthorne Borough Council
Lincoln Jopp MC MP
Member of Parliament for Spelthorne
