Sheffield hosts conference on conditions of housing for asylum seekers

South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG) will hold the event to discuss concerns over a new £4 billion asylum housing contract.

Security firm G4S has provided accommodation for asylum seekers in Sheffield since 2012, after signing a regional contract, and has declared its interest in the new deals, which are expected to start in September 2019.

But SYMAAG members are concerned after the Home Affairs Select Committee described the living standards in asylum accommodation as disgraceful, with overcrowding and infestations of vermin, in January 2017.

Speakers at the event, which will be held at The Sanctuary, Chapel Walk from 11am until 4pm, will asylum tenants, journalists, housing researchers and academics.

The Star has contacted G4S for a comment.