West Midlands likely to take in fewer asylum seekers as councils 'win the day'
A council leader said the West Midlands has "won the day" in its battle with the Government over asylum seeker numbers.
Seven local authorities across the region had raised a legal claim over the "broken" national scheme, claiming the region was being forced to take in more than its fair share of asylum seekers.
But the action was pulled ahead of a High Court hearing, with council leaders saying the Government's new dispersal policy for asylum seekers had addressed their key concerns.
Councillor Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council, said: "It is good to see that the Government has conceded to the points that we have raised, so we have won the day.
"All we wanted was a level playing field and for all councils to be treated equally. For too long in the West Midlands we have been dealing with concentrations of dispersal which puts strains on resources such as education and health.
"Our legal team managed to argue the case that we should be treated fairly and as a result the Government is now looking at different ways they can make that happen."
Last year the councils – Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent – announced they would no longer take part in the national dispersal scheme.
They said the "broken" system – which has seen asylum seekers put up in Black Country hotels – had led to the region taking in hundreds more people than other areas.
Councillor Bird added: "The West Midlands has always been a welcoming place for asylum seekers, but perhaps we have been too welcoming, and it has been a matter of 'working the willing horse'.
"I think it is likely now that there will be a fairer distribution, which could lead to us seeing less asylum seekers being put into the West Midlands in general."
A Government spokesperson said: "The Home Office has started an eight-week informal consultation with local authorities over how a new, fairer asylum dispersal system will operate in their areas long term.
"We are committed to working in partnership with local authorities and creating a fairer full dispersal model which can respond to changing demands."
Thousands of illegal migrants have piled into the UK this year, prompting the Government to launch a scheme to send migrants to Rwanda.
