Communities With Largest Ratio Of Asylum Seekers Revealed

Council figures have revealed the areas of the country that have the highest concentration of asylum seekers.

The top 10 areas are all in Northern England, Scotland or Wales, and politicians from some of those councils have urged the Government to distribute people more evenly.

They claim that a large amounts of asylum seekers are being concentrated in areas that are already struggling with unemployment and cuts to public services.

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk said he was furious that the Government was “dumping” asylum seekers in towns like his, causing a strain on schools and health services.

He said: “Rochdale is a cohesive community. We are quite diverse, but this is really upsetting the apple cart and it is creating tension.

"You have groups of asylum seekers, who through no fault of their own have nothing to do because they are not allowed to work, wandering around the town centre, not speaking English.”

Dave Budd, mayor of Middlesborough mayor, the town with the highest proportion of asylum seekers, said it had "far exceeded its fair allocation”.

Concentration: The top areas to house asylum seekers are all in Wales and the North (PA)

The town has around 900 asylum seekers in a population of 135,000.

However, those who have been re-homed there have spoken positively about the welcome they have received from locals.

Ukrainian Valeriy Byelotyelov, 40, lived in a row of seven houses in an otherwise flattened street, but only two were occupied, the rest were boarded up.

Nevertheless, he said: "I didn’t chose this area, but I was happy after so long in a detention centre to receive a house without bars on the doors. I’m not complaining.”

In smarter Costa Street, around the corner from a bustling Sainsbury’s Local, Ajmal Kadari, 37, from Afghanistan, praised the council - saying his road was cleaner than the one where he once lived in London.

The freelance journalist said: "I like it here. I think they are wonderful people and since I came here I have really enjoyed myself.”

Geraint Davies, Labour MP for Swansea West, which is sixth in the national list, was also unhappy with the way asylum seekers were dispersed.

Bottom 10: Some areas in the south have the lowest intake of asylum seekers (PA)

He said the Government should not exploit Swansea’s "warm welcome” by “over-burdening us and not providing the resources that are needed to support asylum seekers”.

A spokesman for Newport City Council, eighth on the list also mentioned Cardiff, which is ninth, saying their multi-cultural societies meant asylum seekers were welcome, but that those diverse communities also had issues with deprivation.

In Glasgow, third on the national list, the Scottish Refugee Council did not say the city was overburdened, but did call for a national review of the housing contract, saying it had "grave concerns” about how asylum seekers were housed.

The Home Office said it will work with councils that raise concerns about asylum dispersal.

A spokesman said: “We work closely with local authorities to ensure that the impact of asylum dispersals is considered and acted upon.

"We will work with any local authority that raises concerns about asylum dispersal.”

The figures follow a policy started in 2000 to disperse asylum seekers away from London and the prosperous South East.

Top pic: Rex