Home Office chiefs were this week accused of dumping responsibility for strict new asylum targets onto councils while mandarins head for their summer breaks.
Late in July, local government received the Home Office’s delayed full dispersal targets to ensure all UK regions house their fair share of asylum seekers and ease pressure on current hotspots such as London and the North West.
The new targets, imposed by home secretary Priti Patel, should reduce reliance on temporary and hotel-based accommodation, and place families in more suitable homes.
Ministers want to reduce the percentage of asylum seekers housed by London’s boroughs from 21.72% currently to 12.7% by December 2023.
The proportion of asylum seekers in North West authorities is expected to drop from 18.39% to 17.1%.
Demand pressures are also expected to ease in the West Midlands and Northern Ireland – with councils in Scotland, East of England, the East Midlands and South East England expected to take a higher proportion of asylum seekers.
London has been forced to house thousands of asylum seekers in hotels and temporary accommodation under the current regime.
This week London Councils warned boroughs still face ‘disproportionate pressures’.
Some 30% of all asylum-seeking children are currently in the capital.
Speaking on the first anniversary of Operation Pitting, when thousands of Afghan refugees were evacuated to the UK after the Taliban regained power, London Councils’ executive member for communities, Claire Holland, flagged a ‘severe shortage’ of accommodation exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis.
She said: ‘This is far from mission complete.
'We know too many Afghan evacuees are still living in hotels.
'It’s an unsustainable situation, especially for the many families with children we’re supporting.
‘There are worries about the ongoing impact on local resources.’
According to the Home Office, there are 37,000 asylum seekers currently in UK hotels – at a cost to taxpayers of £4.7m per day.
Ministers believe a fairer regional dispersal could slash that number and ease financial pressures, and have made an additional £21m available.
The UK currently houses 88,466 asylum seekers.
Whitehall estimates that figure could rise to 100,000 by the end of next year and wants strict full dispersal targets met by then.
But councils are unhappy that the targets have been dumped on them at short notice.
Local chiefs have been given just six weeks to inform Whitehall how they will hit the targets.
The Home Office initially intended to agree targets last spring.
One local government senior officer said: ‘The Home Office’s management of this policy change has been woeful.
'It has taken nearly four months to issue figures based on fair and equitable shares, which were the obvious solution from the outset.
‘Yet councils are expected to draw up and submit plans in six weeks that more or less coincide with the peak holiday season.
'Another example of Whitehall emptying its out tray before civil servants disappear on holiday and expecting to have the solution provided by local government and waiting for them when they get back.’
A Government spokesperson said: ‘The asylum accommodation system is under enormous pressure due to the huge increase in dangerous small boat crossings and illegal migration.
‘We are committed to working in partnership with local authorities to create a fairer full dispersal model which helps end the unacceptable use of hotels and responds to changing demands.’
Comment - There is a delicate balance between asylum and community cohesion, says Heather Jameson
