Council chiefs say they will refuse to take more dispersed asylum seekers – if the government does not order other areas to do their 'fair share'.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has issued the ultimatum to the Home Office due to growing concerns the city is having to host a disproportionate number of refugees, while other areas do nothing.

The issue has now come to a head because the government is trying to move large numbers of asylum seekers out of hotels and into more permanent accommodation in dispersal areas such as the Potteries.

Local authorities can volunteer to take part in the Home Office's dispersal scheme, and as of last June there were 909 dispersed asylum seekers living in Stoke-on-Trent.

The government can instruct other councils to co-operate with the scheme, but has yet to use this power.

Across the UK, there are 148 local authorities which were hosting at least one dispersed asylum seeker last June – with around half of these hosting fewer than 100 each. But there were 234 councils which were not hosting any.

Abi Brown, Conservative leader of the city council, says it is unacceptable to force Stoke-on-Trent to do more, while other areas are able to continue opting out of the scheme altogether. As of last June Stoke-on-Trent had 35 dispersed asylum seekers per 10,000 population, the fifth highest ratio in the country.

The Home Office pays to house and support dispersed asylum seekers, but Mrs Brown points out that they will also make use of locally provided services.

She said: "We have been a part of the asylum dispersal scheme for many years now, and it seems that we have been doing a lot more than other councils.

"It is a difficult issue because we are a welcoming city. But having so many asylum seekers dispersed here does create pressures, not just for the council but for other services as well.

"This is something we have been raising with the government over the last 18 months. We're not just asking the government for extra support, it's about calling on the government to use the powers they have to compel other councils to do their bit. At the moment they are not using those powers.

"Of the 14 major authorities in the West Midlands, only seven participate in the dispersal scheme. This isn't fair to Stoke-on-Trent.

"We are doing our fair share and we just want other councils to do the same. If the government does not do something about this then we will have no choice but to withdraw from the dispersal scheme."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Abi Brown.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Abi Brown.

The city council has already ended its participation in the National Transfer Scheme for unaccompanied asylum seeking children, which sees the vulnerable youngsters put into the care of local authorities around the country.

Mrs Brown added: "We would only be able to take on around two children anyway, but it is the principle of the thing. It's about taking a stand."

In the West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent and the other six dispersal areas host 5,468 dispersed asylum seekers between them. The other local authorities in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Warwickshire host none at all – although some host small numbers of asylum seekers who are not part of the dispersal scheme.

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Witham in Essex, the constituency of Home Secretary Priti Patel, was hosting zero dispersed asylum seekers in June last year.

StokeonTrentLive asked the Home Office for a response to Mrs Brown's comments, but was referred to statement given by Ms Patel in the House of Commons earlier this week.

The Home Secretary was responding to a question from Stoke-on-Trent South MP Jack Brereton, who had inquired about Operation Oak – the scheme to move asylum seekers out of temporary accommodation.

Ms Patel said: "My honourable friend and I have spoken about this previously, and I very much recognise the pressures experienced in his constituency.

"Obviously we have had accommodation pressures throughout the pandemic, and we are implementing a recovery programme, with which he is familiar. Within that, we are looking to accelerate, where we can and in a covid-compliant way, working with Public Health England and all the relevant organisations that he is familiar with, the movement of people out of contingency accommodation and into much more dispersed accommodation across the UK."