HOME SECRETARY Shabana Mahmood has said the government wants to create a “fairer spread” of asylum accommodation across the UK, with more asylum seekers expected to be housed in wealthier areas.
In an interview with The Times, Mahmood said the government was preparing a “mixed model” of asylum accommodation that would include large military sites, medium-sized buildings such as former student apartments, and dispersal housing such as bedsits and homes of multiple occupancy.
She said the change would take time to “transition” but would ensure “no one type of community is bearing the brunt”.
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Mahmood said she understood the concerns of residents living near asylum accommodation, including those in more affluent areas. She said: “I get it, I understand that these are things that worry people and I get where they’re coming from.”
She added: “You’ve got to get a fair spread and what we are doing with the new model of asylum accommodation and the future of asylum accommodation is think carefully about how you have a fair spread that doesn’t end up being in one community or one type of community.”
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As of March, 97,519 asylum seekers were living in taxpayer-funded accommodation. This included 20,885 in hotels, 68,719 in dispersal housing and 989 in military sites.
Mahmood also said she was in talks with France to make the one-in, one-out agreement permanent after its temporary pilot ends in October. Under the scheme, 1,087 migrants have been deported to France, while 1,117 asylum seekers have been transferred to the UK.
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She defended the £660 million deal with France and said it was “already making a difference” in efforts to seize boats before they enter the water.
The Home Office has said 80,286 foreign citizens with no right to be in the UK have been returned since Labour came to power two years ago.
