Under them, the Home Secretary would have the power to set a limit on the number of asylum seekers each local authority would be required to accommodate, as predicted by Housing Today in January (issue 116).
But the Local Government Assocation is furious that the proposals appear to preempt its own plans - to be published November - for local authorities prepared to take asylum seekers to work together in regional consortia on a voluntary basis.
It accused Whitehall of jumping the gun in order to make political capital following recent disorder involving asylum seekers in Dover (Housing Today, issue 147).
An LGA spokeswoman said: "The Government's proposals are unworkable. Local authorities are better placed to work on the issue.
"Voluntary agreements between councils across the country worked well in finding homes for 1,000 Kosovar refugees.
"But the Home Secretary desire to impose quotas of asylum seekers on local authorities destroys the goodwill needed from local authorities.
"Under the interim scheme, the government could decide to move asylum seekers from Kent to rural North Cornwall which lacks the infrastructure to cater to the newcomers."
National Housing Federation policy officer Fahmeeda Gill added: "This is a classic knee jerk reaction and without the support the refugees will tend to drift back to where they started in the UK."
A Home Office spokesman admitted Whitehall was "disappointed" by the negative response.
He said: "The interim proposals are open to public consultation with all interested parties until October.
* Meanwhile northern local authorities are to take some of Kent's 5,000 asylum seekers. Action to disperse the asylum seekers was agreed following a meeting between councils, the Home Office and police last week. Negotiations with councils across the UK have led to agreements with Leeds and Liverpool councils.
Source
Housing Today
No comments yet