Serco responds to rumours that Blackpool DWP offices could be turned into asylum seeker accommodation

The Department for Work and Pensions is due to vacate its Warbreck House site at the end of June, with staff moving to other offices in Blackpool and Fleetwood.

The keys will be handed back to the landlord who has remained tight-lipped about future plans for the site.

A spokesperson for the DWP told the Gazette: “We can confirm that DWP are due to hand the site back to the landlord by the end of June 2023.

“DWP colleagues are relocating to other DWP offices at Peel Park and Ryscar House and also utilising space at an NHS office, Hesketh House in Fleetwood.”

It has led to speculation that the office complex, off Warbreck Hill Road, could be converted into a new accommodation centre for asylum seekers.

According to staff at the site, rumours have been ‘flying round’ the corridors as the DWP prepares to vacate the building.

“All the rooms are being cleaned and the carpets shampooed,” said one staff member who asked not to be named. “Not something you would normally do if the building was being knocked down.”

What does the Government say?

We asked the Home Office about these reports and whether they are accurate or not. They declined to comment.

But Serco – the Government contractor which oversees the provision of asylum seeker accommodation in the UK – did comment.

“I can confirm that Serco has no plans or involvement in this site,” said a spokesman for the company.

What are the long-term plans for asylum accommodation in Blackpool?

In January, the Home Office confirmed it wants to move tens of thousands of asylum seekers out of hotels, which are costing about £5.6m a day.

It announced plans to put asylum seekers into ‘accommodation centres’ and said it had earmarked £70 million for the project.

Its first attempt to set up such a centre was at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, but this stalled after local opposition, including from Conservative politicians and the threat of legal challenges.

Since then no other concrete plans have emerged.

According to the Guardian, the Home Office aims to run a ‘mini-competition’ for the contract to design, build or renovate these centres and to manage them.

The programme is due to run from June – the same month the DWP will vacate its offices at Warbreck House.

The Linton-on-Ouse proposal was to provide full-board accommodation for 1,500 single men for up to six months, with the contractor Serco due to manage the site.

A shop as well as faith and medical services were also planned.

The Gazette was unable to reach the landlord of Warbreck House for comment.