‘NO MORE REFUGEES PLEASE, PRITI’
Corrigan City joins Midlands councils quitting Government scheme
THE leader of Stoke-on-trent City Council has told Priti Patel her authority will no longer take part in the Government’s ‘unsustainable’ asylum seeker dispersal scheme.
Abi Brown has joined her counterparts at six other West Midands councils in writing to the Home Secretary to formally announce their ‘immediate request to suspend participation’ in the dispersal programme.
Under the voluntary scheme, councils agree for asylum seekers to be accommodated in their areas while their claims are being processed. But the seven West Midlands authorities say they have had to do more than their fair share, while most other councils have not been required to take any asylum seekers at all.
At the end of last year there were 880 dispersed asylum seekers living in Stoke-on-trent, with a further 4,655 in the other six areas. Stokeon-trent has among the highest numbers of asylum seekers in the country, relative to population – 34 per 10,000.
The council leaders say under Operation Oak – the Government’s scheme for relocating asylum seekers who have been placed in hotels during the pandemic – another 1,760 refugees will be dispersed to the West Midlands.
According to the letter, the proportion of asylum seekers dispersed to the region rose 11.86 per cent to 13.35 per cent last year, the highest percentage increase in the country. While the Government pays for the accommodation and living costs of dispersed asylum seekers, the councils say there is also an impact on the local services they provide.
The letter states: “We are now of the view that the accommodation of asylum seekers in the West Midlands at current levels, which has been the reality for many years, without any additional support to deal with the huge pressures this puts onto local communities and services, is simply unsustainable.
“Therefore, after much consideration and with regret we wish to notify you formally of our immediate request to suspend participation in the asylum dispersal scheme for all future asylum seekers. For clarity, further procurement requests for additional accommodation by your providers from this date will not be approved.”
While partipation in the dispersal scheme is voluntary, the Government has the power to force councils to take asylum seekers – but so far this has not been used.
At the end of last year, 158 UK councils were hosting at least one dispersed asylum seeker, while 223 were not hosting any at all.
The letter requests a formal review of dispersal, with the aim of producing a ‘more equitable spread’ across all local authorities. The councils also want the Government to commit to providing an agreed level of funding per dispersed asylum seeker.
Along with Stoke-on-trent, the other dispersal areas in the West Midlands are Birmingham, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Walsall and Dudley.
Mrs Brown hopes the Home Office will now listen to the councils’ concerns. She said: “This is about trying to open up a discussion about how the asylum dispersal system works.
“So far it’s been very frustrating trying to get the Home Office to engage with us on this issue.
“We want them to talk to us about how the system can be improved, and we’ve made a number of suggestions in the letter. This isn’t party political – three of the councils are Conservative-led and four are Labour-led. This isn’t about party politics, it’s about parity.”
The Home Office says it has received the letter and will respond in due course. Minister for Future Borders and Immigration Kevin Foster said: “We have a legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, but can only use dispersed accommodation with the agreement of local authorities. We are grateful for the contributions these councils have made and for them being part of this system. We also wish to get more areas to play their part in this work.
“The Government has announced our New Immigration Plan to fix our broken asylum system, to ensure we can support asylum seekers in genuine need of our protection, but be firm on those who seek to abuse the system.”