Home Secretary Jack Straw's framework for housing asylum seekers around Britain was on the brink of financial disaster this week as landlords warned they faced being crippled by massive debts
With no sign of the numbers of homeless asylum seekers arriving in Britain relenting, local authorities said they would lose out by £100m unless more Home Office cash was forthcoming.

The shortfall was revealed as official figures reported a rise in the number of arrivals for the fifth consecutive month.

There were 7,355 applications in September, up from August's previous record of 7,120. The backlog of applications awaiting a decision now stands at over 90,000.

The Home Secretary said the continuing rise demonstrated the "pressing need" to get his Immigration and Asylum Bill into law, claiming it would deter abuse and relieve the pressures on the south east.

However, Association of London Government and the Local Government Association said implementing the dispersal programme would cost councils up to £100m more than the Home Office grants.

ALG social policy officer Mark Brangwyn said: "We must continue dialogue with the government to gain these resources."

The shortfall stems from Home Office projections that 58,000 asylum seekers would arrive in Britain this year. But there have already been more than 51,000, and councils believe the total will reach 70,000 by the end of the financial year.

Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe claimed the entire process was in crisis and "spiralling out of control". "Britain received more applications for asylum in the first nine months of the year than in the whole of 1998," she said.

However, Home Office officials say the measures contained in the Bill, due to be implemented in December, will reduce the number of arrivals to just 42,000 next year.

LGA asylum seekers team leader Mike Boyle warned that an underestimate would lead to another cash shortfall for authorities next year.

He said: "We don't feel that that figure is credible. We would expect at some point fairly soon the Home Office to look again at those figures."

Meanwhile an amendment to the dispersal regulations, proposed by the DETR, is still being considered. It would allow those who apply for asylum when they arrive to be moved as well as those who apply in their country of origin.

Source

Housing Today