23 May 2003
The Local Government Association will use its annual conference in Harrogate in July to highlight authorities' fears they are being sidelined in the debate over asylum seekers.
A motion, proposed by Fareham Borough Council in Hampshire, is to be discussed at its general assembly on July 1 as part of a drive to engage ministers in a discussion over asylum policy.
The news came as Prime Minister Tony Blair was unveiling Home Office statistics on May 22 showing a substantial fall in the number of asylum seekers entering Britain.
The figures were expected to show the number had dropped from 9,000 per month in October 2002 to 5,000 by March 2003.
In February, Blair promised that the monthly total would be 4,500 by October this year.
The statistics should also reveal that 14,400 failed asylum seekers were deported in 2002.
But the LGA's decision to raise the issue at its general assembly, a move to be approved by its executive on May 22, has been prompted by fears that authorities are being ignored.
Council leader Sean Woodward said he submitted the motion, demanding a 'coherent approach to asylum issues', following the Home Office's controversial proposal to open an asylum seekers' accommodation centre on the site of HMS Daedalus in Fareham.
'The site falls within the boundaries of both Fareham and Gosport borough councils. It has been very difficult for both councils to obtain information from the Home Office and there has been a general lack of consultation regarding the matter,' he said.
The LGA is backing the motion because it encapsulates 'a topical issue of concern to many authorities'.
PFmay2003
