Asylum seeker dispersal plans in Wales close to collapse

Plans for dispersing asylum seekers throughout Wales are near to
collapse, delegates at a meeting of the Welsh Local Government
Association, were told, writes Alex
Dobson.

Twenty one councils across the principality have taken part in a
scheme designed to place asylum seekers in suitable accommodation
in Wales, but the project has never been properly established
despite months of expensive planning.

Now the local authority consortium behind the project has issued
an ultimatum to the home office after running up bills of more than
£175,000 over the last two years.

The consortium has set a deadline of Tuesday 30 April for the
home office, through the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), to
confirm that it will enter into a contract for the proposed
accommodation.

If the deadline is not met the consortium will withdraw from the
scheme.

If the plan does collapse, councils in Wales want the home
office to reimburse them for the costs that have been incurred over
the last two years which now stand at £175,000, and are rising
by £13,000 a month. Bingham has told NASS director, Freda
Chaloner that the consortium had taken a decision that the present
impasse was both financially and operationally unsustainable.