Failings in one branch saw people left without medicine and meals. It had hoped to take over the contract to run much of the Ministry of Defences main accommodation estate in 2018, after Carillion went spectacularly bust. If you try to submit a local council planning application online, you will probably be redirected there. Please contact the Asylum Teamat asylum@newcastle.gov.uk. Chips and crisps from 1.30 in the afternoon to 8 oclock the next day., Poor health care for pregnant women, people not tracked, Terry told me, In the hotel where I spent two months there was a pregnant woman who was visited by the midwife. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your current location. G4S lost all its asylum housing contracts in 2019 after a sustained campaign over six years by asylum tenants with the courage to complain and challenge the international security company as their landlord. Click on the heading below to go straight to a section: Mears is one of the UKs biggest maintenance and repairs contractors, working on over 650,000 homes for councils and housing associations. At the time of writing, the top five biggest stakes are held by investment funds: Most companies on the stock market have similar ownership profiles, with no single investor having close to a majority stake. Mears current Chief Operating Officer, John Taylor, was previously boss of scandal-hit housing company Orchard & Shipman when that company won the bid to run much of the previous Scottish asylum housing contract under Serco. The Mears Group, which has the Home Office contract to house asylum seekers in Glasgow has been heavily criticised for its decision to move around 400 asylum seekers in Glasgow claiming it was necessary because of problems securing lets during the lockdown, which campaigners say had put the physical and mental health of asylum seekers at risk. 407-422-2222. Mears home care division provides care to 15,000 older and disabled people. This is the living room. David showed me damaged furniture and a decaying wall cupboard, then a storage area with stained and damaged wall and dirty stair carpets. This is reflected in the non-execs on the board, who are plugged in to these different parts of the regeneration industry. Mears is an enthusiastic part of this. This is under the control of the Home Office and the UK Visas and Immigration department who decide who can legally reside in the UK. If you are granted refugee status, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave to remain, you can apply for help and financial support through the UK benefits system provided you meet the usual conditions of entitlement. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your current location. Presumably his experience will have helped with Mears bid for the new contract. The crisis in the Mears contract in South Yorkshire and the North East has meant that there is very little housing for asylum seekers to go to from Urban House, and so many are being accommodated in hotels across West Yorkshire and Humberside. The solicitor can talk to you about legal aid and, if you are eligible, they will apply for this this so that you do not need to pay for their services. Housing Advice and Homelessness - If you need housing advice, are at risk of homelessness or are homeless and have nowhere to stay please contact: Housing Advice Centre They are responsible for your accommodation. Downloads. I think the most frightening thing I saw was when there were over a hundred of us in a hotel in November, with families and some children under five, and we were all told to stay in the hotel for a week because on social media someone political had threatened us. If Mears does face financial difficulties in coming years and is unable to pay out the dividends its shareholders have become accustomed to, expect more disagreements between management and shareholders. Use the branch locator to find a contact number for your local branch. Mears paid out 12 million in 2017, up from 11 million the year before. I tried to contact them but there was no reply for hours. We provide affordable homes to renters and shared owners across the UK - from individuals in need of a temporary home, to families looking to put down roots in an area longer term. Muslim women with the headscarf were really terrified and very afraid for their children.. Cathodic Protection Design andEvaluation, AC Mitigation Design, Installation, andCommissioning, Electric Transmission and SubstationServices PackageInspection, Evaluation,Corrosion Management, Direct Assessment Integrity ServiceECDA, ICDA, SCCDA, ECDA for CasedPipe, Pipeline engineeringevaluations/assessments, Facility and storage cavern corrosionassessments, Alternating Current Voltage Gradient(ACVG), Current Attenuation with a PipelineCurrent Mapper (PCM), Depth of Cover and Inclination ProfileSurveys, EPC EngineeringProcurement Construction, Marine Crossings (Water-to-Waterand Shore Approaches), Engineering, Procurement andConstruction, Mains Cast Iron and BareSteel Replacement, Auditing Support withState Regulators/ PHMSA, Using software and tools tosupport Distribution, Permits, Road andRailRoad, Environmental, Public Improvement forroad and/or utilityexpansions. Here the food is not bad sometimes but very small portions. In December, I discovered April and her disabled family, forced into a totally unsuitable house in Rotherham by previous provider G4S and then ignored and neglected by Mears, left with a flooding living room and rats in the kitchen. Mears does have another smaller MoD contract since 2016 it has run the militarys substitute service family accommodation, to find private sector housing for military personnel. Lenexa, KS Grandview, MO Huntersville, NC Email. It has recently won the 1.15 billion Home Office contract to provide asylum seeker housing in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire and the North East of England. box of lies online generator list of hotels housing asylum seekers in scotland We have a formal complaints process which aims to make sure all formal complaints are recorded, investigated and responded to fairly and in a timely manner. These items are used to deliver advertising that is more relevant to you and your interests. All of that came either directly from the public sector through local authorities and NHS Trusts or from housing associations. Still, his 443,000 was more than 20 times the average Mears employees salary of 21,684. St Philips Close This product is licensed from F5 Networks. They have no understanding of what asylum housing is about. Arlington, Texas. One Mears subsidiary, called Terraquest, is unlike other parts of the business. In 2017 he also joined the board. Careers. More than 50 asylum seekers are in a hotel in Falkirk - and Aberdeen and Perth could house more. Our role is in liaison with these private contractors to try and ensure that they can respond to local circumstances and to then manage the move-on arrangements when people are granted refugee status. Residents on the first estate targeted, Fullers Slade, protested at being let down and ignored by YourMK. Hello Boglarka In its last annual report, for 2017, Mears work brought in revenues of 900 million. Croft House With over 20 operating locations across the United States, our dedicated personnel, readily deployable resources and North America's largest fleet of specialized construction equipment are everywhere you need us. I thought they meant I was to be deported. Contact Information . These officers will support the move on process if you are granted refugee status and will offer advice and signposting if you receive a negative decision on your asylum claim. Miles was paid 443,000 in 2017. Mears Group has moved around 500 asylum seekers into city hotels, claiming that it was a necessary measure because of problems securing lets during the lockdown. Thank you very much for your comments and for your solidarity with Mears tenants in asylum housing Mears rules out controversial policy imposed by previous asylum housing provider Serco Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent Thu 25 Jun 2020 09.46 EDT First published on Thu 25 Jun 2020 09.45 EDT They are listed as non profit but are companies limited by guarantee rather than charities. More than 20 people have tested positive at . Following the money. Mears shares are bought and sold on the London Stock Exchange. They said they had not tracked where I was., As I left him Terry said, I think I am going to volunteer with a food bank, maybe I can persuade them to bring food for the children here.. (24-hour service for emergencies) Find out about call charges. Newcastle upon Tyne. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. Advertising networks usually place them with the website operators permission. 112-114 Pilgrim Street Its revenues more than doubled in size over the previous ten years, increasing from 420 million in 2008. Our office is based in Wakefield - will be expected to work between . Corporate Watch has looked into Mears past record to find how the strong sense of social responsibility its promotional materials boast plays out in practice. I have never had any money. In an investor briefing last year, Mears management said they had decided to turn their focus to bigger deals, particularly from central government: Evolution of business means we are gaining access to opportunities previously out of our reach.. 866-435-5686. Learn how your comment data is processed. I hope you can get Mears to come quickly. Mears long-time chairman Bob Holt was recently pushed out by the second biggest shareholder, German investor Shareholder Value Management. This scenario has been playing out across the UK since September 2019, when three companies - Serco, Clearsprings and the Mears Group - took over the Home Office contract for the provision of asylum housing for asylum seekers awaiting decisions (currently 48,000). The Home Office is responsible for managing the dispersal, accommodation and support needs of asylum seekers while a decision on the asylum claim is made. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The company agreed to raise and equalise wages after 80 days of strikes. We will push for the Mears contract to be terminated by the Home Office. The joint venture is now called Mears Scotland, with Mears holding 67% of the stock and the council 33%. Michael, who invited me into one property, showed me a blocked toilet upstairs. In the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber this contract is held by Mears. Before joining Mears in 2012, Willie was head of Glasgows arms length company City Building, which was spun-off from the city councils old building services department and became embroiled in scandals over awarding contracts to several Labour Party donors. Another big Mears contract is the 200 million, ten year housing maintenance deal with Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC), which began in 2010. This scenario has been playing out across the UK since September 2019, when three companies Serco, Clearsprings and the Mears Group took over the Home Office contract for the provision of asylum housing for asylum seekers awaiting decisions (currently 48,000). Call Asylum Help UK if youre an adult asylum seeker or the dependant of an adult asylum seeker. In Scotland, Mears takes over from the previous manager, Serco, after a strong local campaign against that companys attempts to evict 300 refugees from their homes in Glasgow. Asylum accommodation and support services; News News. Listed below are details of how you can get help with core services: Housing - Depending on your situation, you have several options: Council Housing - Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) provides housing on behalf of the Council. Tel: 0191 245 7301www.refugee.org.uk, West End Refugee Service (WERS) Good that you have a tenants organisation to stand up for your rights.It is always a bitter struggle against landlords like Mears.They are a huge company with massive resources and now a huge lucrative contract for asylum housing. But maintenance margins are tight. From its beginnings in pipeline engineering, it has grown to be a leader in corrosion engineering, pipeline integrity management, pipeline rehabilitation and horizontal directional drilling. I cannot explain the stress & grief this money-hungry company has caused to many of its tenants. His replacement, Kieran Murphy, is an investment banker rather than a builder. The new contracts will commence in September 2019 and the Home . The business model is based on trying to undercut councils and social landlords in house services; and there is competition from several big national rivals, as well as smaller local companies. Many home care companies are facing severe financial difficulties, with market leader Allied Healthcare recently at the brink of going under. However, Mitie Property Management has been one of the worst performing parts of Mities business, which the company has been looking to get rid of for some time (click here to read more in our 2018 Mitie company profile). I am a Mears tenant in Newham, London. We have a formal complaints process which aims to make sure all formal complaints are recorded, investigated and responded to fairly and in a timely manner. 2 Friars Street In 2017 it had 345 housing apprentices and 224 care apprentices. For welfare rights and money advice please visitWelfare Rights. A court case challenging the evictions is currently in progress. People who work in the hotels are often really rude to us. Miles is a long-term Mears manager. A related business line is property acquisition funding. San Antonio, TX Added to this, Mears like Serco and the rest does not own a vast array of tangible assets such as buildings, land or equipment that it could sell or rent out in the event it needed to raise cash (but see the housing section, above, for details of Mears current attempts to change that). There is no suggestion that Mears uses the nationwide planning data it manages to gain an unfair advantage in its own developments. As many authorities closed or sold off their DLO maintenance departments, the winners were contractors like Mears. Press Enquiries. This will include identifying support needs, managing community cohesion issues, and developing strong partnerships with local authorities and in communities.. I wish you good luck and the very best in your fight for a decent place to live We look forward to hearing from you.Find contact details for care, repairs or management queries on our list of local branches. Once you know that your family will be joining you please get in touch with the LAASLO team who may be able to offer support please email asylum@newcastle.gov.uk. You will receive notice to leave the accommodation within 21 days. One, now in the bag, covers major Home Office asylum housing contracts for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and North East England, Yorkshire and the Humber. As a result Mears has had to scale back its ambitions. In practice, the accommodation is rented from a wide range of housing associations and smaller private landlords, with Mears acting as the overall manager. Report anti-social behaviour. Since September, there have been continual massive delays in the passing on of tenants requests for repairs from Migrant Help to Mears, which Migrant Help puts down to teething problems and high demand. Links. There he became a managing director and head of industrial sector. So can Mears confidently expect the acquired businesses to bring in profits to justify the current valuations? YourMK is, or was, Mears flagship regeneration project: a 1 billion partnership with Milton Keynes council to redevelop seven major estates over 15 years, affecting 8,500 homes. Asylum seekers need some care and support. Share on: Mears has been awarded three new government contracts to provide accommodation and support for asylum seekers. The Home Office operate a number of regional contracts to facilitate this. The Old Mill. We will push for the Mears contract to be terminated by the Home . These contracts involve providing housing for thousands of asylum seekers who have been dispersed to those areas by the Home Office while they apply for refugee status. We are all worried here in the house, it is dangerous for us to have no alarms., Mears is not coping at all, another contact told me. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your current location. All rights reserved. Asylum Support Application UK Mears has been awarded contracts for Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber. In Belfast, the BBC reported in September that a woman asylum seeker reported water leaking into her kitchen. Last week I was sent video material of bed bugs crawling on woodwork in a Bradford asylum house where people had been placed from Urban House. That puts Mears value on a par with companies such as lorry firm Eddie Stobart and Hotel Chocolat. But it is far from certain the company can be trusted to provide decent homes for refugees. The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors. He also chairs the investment committee at University College London hospital. Newham council have done little to remedy this & we continue to campaign. Even with infamously low wages being paid to staff, many contracts do not pay enough for companies to break even. However, staff turnover remains, in Mears words, unsustainable. Home Office statistics show that there were 34,354 new asylum claimants in the UK (main applicants only) in the year ending September 2019, 22 percent more than the previous year and the highest level for three years. Mears home care division provides care to 15,000 older and disabled people. Contact us; Contact. I take them from the cleaners trolley and give to the women. I visited two of the houses where, despite the fact that communal areas were really dirty, there was no evidence of recent cleaning (the visitation log mentioned cleaning on 8 October 2019). In January 2019 Mears won its biggest deal yet 1.15 billion worth of asylum housing contracts with the Home Office. It also manages the National Planning Portal, which processes most of the UKs planning applications, and last year it bought rival outsourcer Mities social housing division. Two months later, there was still no heating or hot water, and Mears staff had not visited the property. Heber City, UT And I can prove that beyond any doubt. McCabe did take gifts of dinners, whiskey and chocolates from Mears, but these were legally declared on the councils website. They may also be used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Through the years, Mears has grown steadily by picking up outsourcing contracts from both councils and housing associations, taking over former DLOs and buying out competing maintenance businesses. Over the past four months, the combination of these delays and Mears contract performance its failures in terms of the quality, cleanliness and general management of homes have failed tenants. Last time they sent somebody who said he had come up from near London, Ruth said. But the contract will come up for renewal or retender in 2019. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 Mears moved about 350 asylum seekers from flats into hotels as a "temporary measure". At half past midnight on Christmas eve, Ruth, an asylum seeking mother with a 3-year-old child, rang me. We have been renting a considerable number of properties to Asylum seekers ever since the home office contracts began. Secondly, the affordable subsidiaries can be used to access public grants: We work with investors to purchase stock where we can secure long leases at affordable rents and can utilise Local Authority funding in addition to leveraging in private institutional funding.. But for Mears, this will mean taking one of its main competitors out of the game. The company employs 12,000 people. They complain that the contracts with Mears are less favourable than the previous ones with G4S, giving them fewer rights and paying them less, which is one reason Mears have been able to procure only a few new properties in South Yorkshire, with none of the large landlords with many properties signing. The finance director, C.M. This model of local public provision was attacked by Conservative and Labour governments from the 1980s on. If Mears does, at some stage, have to accept that it overpaid for its home care businesses, its overall worth could be significantly reduced. Group Transportation Sales. In the five years between 2013-2017, Mears paid out 52 million in dividends, with the amount rising each year. Holt was paid 285,000 for 2017. As a result a range of different investors own stakes in the company. I have been shocked to read about the plight of asylum -seekers in Mears accomodation& express my solidarity towards them. An electrical engineer by trade, he worked at Mitie back in the 1990s but joined Mears in 1996 when it went public. NE4 5JE It alleged Holt who cut his business teeth working for notorious Tory donor Lord Ashcroft had continually failed to challenge the status quo of deteriorating results, a stagnant share price and faded shareholder value. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. The Unity Centre in Glasgow and SYMAAG in Yorkshire are two groups actively supporting the struggle for decent housing for refugees. Our customer contact centre is open 24/7 and can deal with all your initial enquiries or put you in touch with the right person to help. However, the education inspectorate Ofsted gave the Mears Learning division, which runs apprenticeships in the company, a negative rating of insufficient progress in its report in May 2018. We have some kids here from 5 to 8 years old. But the plastering scam was not an isolated incident. In Scotland, Mears has a major contract with North Lanarskhire Council, worth an estimated 445 million over ten years, to maintain the councils 36,500 council homes, as well as schools and public buildings. Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm As of 2017, Mears has the ability to borrow 170 million through those deals if required, plus a new 30 million pot it can access for its new scheme to buy property before selling them onto to long-term developers (see the housing section). John, 2020 Institute of Race Relations, All Rights Reserved. . In 2017, Stroud Council, in Mears own county of Gloucestershire, cancelled its 4 million maintenance contract with Mears after just one year. If you have refugee or humanitarian protection you may be able to apply to have your partner and/or child(ren) join you. If you have a question, or a problem, we want to hear from you. Telephone: 0808 801 0503. In September, the Mears Group, an outsourcing company working in housing management and home care,became theUKs biggest refugee landlord, starting three 10-year asylum accommodation contracts from the Home Office worth a total 1.15 billion. Almost 3,000 of these are run by Mears two non-profit subsidiaries Omega and Plexus (see section below). Mears is clear about how Plexus and Omega can play this role, saying that its affordable housing arms assist and support developers on section 106 agreements.. This storage type usually doesnt collect information that identifies a visitor. Miami, FL It is important that you seek specialist support to help you consider your options. For more details visit, To receive updates on homelessness prevention and financial inclusion related services, provision and changes linked to the Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, please, subscribe to the Active Inclusion Newcastle information update by emailing. Mears claim to provide rapid response repairs but all they do is avoid responsibility and sparing on repair costs. In January 2015, North Lanarkshires Labour council hit a crisis, as one Labour councillor named Tommy Morgan was sacked from his role as chair of the audit and governance panel. If you have claimed asylum and are awaiting a decision you can apply for financial support and housing from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) which is part of the Home Office, a department of UK Government. Call Children's Panel if you're a child in . 2019-12-21 19:00:03 . Today on the protest there were people stuck in these conditions for 5 months the Home Office contract says that Mears should keep people in Urban House only for a few weeks. The Mears New Homes division was set up in 2014. This comes across clearly from Mears website page on its affordable housing operations. Gas Engineer. The UK government has a duty to provide asylum for those seeking international protection in the UK. Mears contact info: Phone number: +44 8706071400 Website: www.mearsgroup.co.uk What does Mears do? Privacy is important to us, so you have the option of disabling certain types of storage that may not be necessary for the basic functioning of the website. Both are wholly owned by Mears and are registered with the governments Social Housing Regulator as social housing providers. Plain City, OH Find out about call charges. How does Terraquest fit into Mears strategy? Mears other big government tender was less successful. It also has other business lines including employer security checks. We have asked our external auditors to investigate fully, as is right, to establish if the allegation has any basis and will act accordingly., A Mears spokesperson said: Mears does not in any way recognise these claims and are not aware of any audit being undertaken within the council. NE4 8SR One important trend in the UK housing world is the convergence of private and social sectors. We have a great opportunity for an experienced Gas Engineer to join out growing Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract team on a full-time permanent basis covering the Yorkshire area. Quanta Services builds the infrastructure that powers your world. Alternatively you can write to us on: Migrant Help, Charlton House, Dour Street, Dover, CT16 1AT. Newcastle has been welcoming asylum seekers for many years. Serco and Clearsprings had been providing asylum housing since privatisation in 2012. Picture: from Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition. Experience of managing around 17,000 homes in collaboration with landlords across the UK. Scottsdale, AZ The mears group have taken over the contract to house asylum seekers in Scotland. But, at least, providing this service must give it a real familiarity with the planning system and how it works across the country. Mears Group, Inc. is a private company. At the time of writing, Mears is still working in Brighton. The properties here are to be demolished at a later time.

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