PM Reveals Why They Chose to Push Ahead With Plans to Move Asylum Seekers to Richer Areas Despite the Extra Cost to Taxpayers
Andy Burnham plans to move ahead with proposals to house asylum seekers in wealthier and middle-class areas, even if it costs taxpayers more money.
The Prime Minister said asylum seekers should not be placed only in the poorest communities. He believes richer parts of the country must also “play their part” in providing accommodation.
The Government is reportedly considering increasing the rent limit paid to private contractors that provide asylum housing. The current limit makes it difficult for contractors to offer homes in more expensive areas. Raising it could allow asylum seekers to be housed in wealthier towns and postcodes, but taxpayers may have to pay more.
Reports suggest Mr Burnham wants to make the change because he believes the present system is unfair. He accepts that spreading asylum seekers more widely could cost more, but sees it as a matter of principle.
Home Office figures show that 97,519 people were receiving asylum support at the end of March. Of these, 20,885 were living in hotels, while 3,866 received only weekly financial support for essential needs such as food, clothes and toiletries.
A further 72,768 people were living in other types of accommodation. This includes flats, houses and shared properties known as houses in multiple occupation.
Analysis has found that 17 council areas currently have no asylum seekers supported by taxpayers. These areas include the Cotswolds, Derbyshire Dales, Malvern Hills, the New Forest and the Scottish Highlands.
Mr Burnham said he did not want poorer communities to carry most of the responsibility for housing refugees and asylum seekers. He said every part of the country should help.
His comments came amid anger over plans to house 1,250 male asylum seekers at a former military site near Bicester in Oxfordshire. Piddington, a nearby village, has a population of only around 400 people. Residents have voted to hold a symbolic referendum on leaving the UK as part of their protest against the plans.
Borders Minister Anna Turley defended the Government’s approach. She said asylum seekers must be distributed fairly across the country. She added that places with cheaper housing, such as Blackpool, had already accepted their fair share, putting heavy pressure on local communities and contributing to serious unrest.
A Downing Street source said Mr Burnham believes the current system is unfair and wants asylum seekers to be spread more evenly. The source acknowledged that this could cost more but said the Government believes it is necessary.
Conservative MPs strongly criticised the proposal. Dame Harriett Baldwin, whose constituency includes the Malvern Hills, said local people would not welcome thousands of male asylum seekers in large accommodation centres that do not currently exist there.
Joe Robertson, the Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East, said the Government should choose locations that provide the best value for taxpayers. He warned that political decisions that increase costs would be wrong.
The Government said it remains committed to closing every asylum hotel and moving people into basic accommodation. It said the number of asylum seekers receiving support is falling and hotel use has dropped by 35 per cent over the past year and by 63 per cent since its peak in 2023.
It also claimed that total asylum costs have fallen by £1 billion since the general election. The Government said it would continue working with councils to distribute asylum seekers more fairly while listening to local concerns and trying to reduce the pressure on communities.
