27/01/2026
๐ทMears Group, the contractor used by the Home Office to provide asylum accommodation, has been forced to return ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ยฃ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ก after making profits above what was permitted under its government contract. Even more concerning, Northern Ireland delivered Mearsโ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ anywhere in the UK.
๐ At a time when families are struggling with sky-high rents and a chronic shortage of homes, it's understood that ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ญ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐. That is nothing short of a disgrace.
โผ๏ธThis policy is actively ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐, removing homes from general use and locking them into long-term contracts with the greatest impact felt in our most deprived communities.
๐ค๐ป I fully support DUP Councillor, Alderman Paul Porter in calling for a full, independent investigation into ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒโ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐๐บ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
