ASYLUM SEEKERS

The Government has announced it will stop sending asylum seekers to Derby - at least for the time being. The National Asylum Support Service (NASS), the Government agency that houses asylum seekers while they await the outcome of their residency applications, has called a temporary halt to its dispersal scheme. The move comes after Derby City Council lobbied NASS to stop sending people to the city. Currently, NASS is supporting 1,367 people in Derby - 217 more than the city should have, according to the agency's own guidelines of placing one asylum seeker per 200 of the existing population - which is around 230,000.

The Lib Dem-Tory alliance, which took control of the council in May, says the number of asylum seekers is causing a "serious strain" on housing and health services and that the city cannot cope with a continued influx of asylum seekers. Tory Philip Hickson, council deputy leader, said, "I shall continue to campaign against any more asylum seekers being dispersed in this city. My view is, and always has been, that the policy of introducing large numbers of asylum seekers, which cannot be properly supported, has been a disaster, and I'm glad to see it come to an end."

A few weeks earlier, a petition was handed in to the city council by members of the Asian community of Normanton calling for the council to take action over tensions caused by Iraqi asylum seekers. They claimed that "the asylum seekers should not have been placed in what is a 'majority' Asian community," adding, "this has caused problems because they don't seem to fit in with Western culture." This decision to stop sending asylum seekers here wouldn't have anything to do with the petition, would it?

The Government was accused of "secretly" sending asylum seekers to Derby without informing the city council. Council deputy leader Philip Hickson was outraged. He said it was "highly unethical" of the Government. "We would expect that if there were any changes to the arrangements, they would have to consult with us. They haven't done that. If some sort of dispersal has been arranged, it's certainly a matter we'll take up with NASS and we'll get MPs involved. We wouldn't expect a Government department to under-handedly resume any dispersal."

Mr Hickson estimates there are more than 3,000 refugees in Derby, plus at least 1,500 illegal immigrants. Official figures show there are 1,096 asylum seekers in Derby. David Callow, Derby Voluntary Sector Refugee Forum chairman, which helps asylum seekers and refugees, said most were single working men in private rented accommodation, who would not receive housing waiting list priority. He added, "There's a lot of negativity from people who assume they're drains on society."

Council leaders said they have had assurances that no asylum seekers have been sent to the city since September 2003 saying they would be very unhappy if the Home Office's promises turned out to be misleading. Mr Hickson said, "I will be more than disappointed, I shall be furious. We had an agreement that dispersal to the city would cease. There has been no agreement that it could resume and the council's policy is that it should not resume."

Bill Jeffrey, the head of the Home Office's immigration and nationality directorate, admitted that the Government got it wrong. In a statement, he said, "There has been no dispersal of asylum seekers to Derby since September, 2003, and dispersal to Derby remains suspended. We would not restart dispersing asylum seekers to Derby without consulting fully with Derby City Council and other local partners, to ensure that the needs of the community were taken into account."

Mr Hickson said, "It's an absolute disgrace, an illustration of what a shambles asylum policy is - the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. I want to reassure people that dispersal will not resume, and the Home Office has now confirmed that dispersal would also not resume, without the city council's knowledge and agreement."

The number of asylum seekers pouring into Derby has been blamed for a mounting housing crisis. The number of people registered homeless has rocketed in the past year whilst the number of homes has plummeted. There are currently 517 people registered homeless in the city but just 38 council houses available. In contrast, figures for April last year show there were 187 people needing housing who then had a choice of 181 homes. Councillor Hickson, who is responsible for housing, said the influx of asylum seekers over the last few years has been to blame.

Mr Hickson believes the situation is only going to get worse. He said, "The amount of refugees is putting a huge strain on the housing, GP and education systems. In Derby there are more people than available resources.There is a problem and there is no immediate solution and it is only going to get worse. Once their asylum application is approved they become resident in the city and the council has a duty to house them. The only solution would be to build hundreds of houses, but that's not going to happen as we've not been budgeted for building and we don't have the land in the city."

It was in the late 1990s that asylum seekers started flocking to Derby in the aftermath of the Kosovo war and official city council figures indicate that there are now 1,800 asylum seekers in Derby. Despite Home Office claims to the contrary, the Derby council taxpayer is footing the bill and financial resources that have already been under pressure are being stretched to the limit, causing a funding crisis for the Council, who are to seek emergency funding from Central Government.

Lib Dem Maurice Burgess, leader of the city council, said, "As soon as the asylum seeker is given permission to stay in the local authority area, it's our responsibility to house them, but we only have a limited number of properties. This is a problem that's been swept under the carpet by the previous Labour council." Officially Derby is the 12th largest recipient in the UK of asylum applicants, but in terms of population size is not even in the top 20.

The government denied that Derby takes three times the national average of asylum seekers, despite city council figures which show otherwise. The statistics highlight an asylum population in the city of between 1,500 and 2,000, which compares to an average of around 550. Home Office Minister Fiona MacTaggart said the city was no different to other places.

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