West Midland councils refuse to take more asylum seekers due to 'unsustainable' system

In a letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel, seven local authorities announced they were pulling out of the asylum dispersal scheme "for all future asylum seekers".

The letter adds: "For clarity further procurement requests for additional accommodation by your providers from this date will not be approved."

The scheme was introduced in 1999 in a bid to ensure that no one area of the country would be "overburdened" by the obligation of supporting asylum seekers.

However, West Midlands councils say they have taken more than their fair share while other authorities have taken none.

The seven authorities – Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent – were home to more than 5,500 asylum seekers at the end of last year.

According to the letter seen by the Express & Star, a further 1,760 asylum seekers who had been temporarily housed in hotels were due to be placed in the West Midlands by the end of this month.

The council leaders said: "Many of our wards already sit at above the 1:200 head of population with local support services already under strain so this potential additional burden is simply intolerable."

The letter adds that 13.35 per cent of asylum seekers were dispersed in the region at the last count, up from 11.86 per cent in 2019, and marking the "highest percentage increase in the country".

The leaders say they have reached out to other authorities to help share the burden but claim they have "continued to refuse support citing reasons such as funding, lack of infrastructure support, previous experience or citing simply that they await mandation of the scheme from Government".

They also hit out over the "absence of a strategic national plan", adding: "What we do know is that the current position is untenable and that we simply cannot continue to support in the same manner going forward without this inequitable position being addressed."

The letter says: "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."

Asked to comment on the letter, Councillor Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council, said: "I can confirm that West Midlands leaders have written to the Home Office in relation to the dispersal of asylum seekers."

Last year more than 200 local authorities did not take in any asylum seekers.

The leaders have called for an immediate review of the dispersal programme, including a commitment to widening participation and bringing in a set amount of funding for each asylum seeker.

Kevin Foster, Minister for Future Borders and Immigration, 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.”