Simon Danczuk slams Government for “dumping” asylum seekers in Rochdale

Photo: Journeaux

Simon Danczuk MP

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk has issued his strongest attack yet against the Government’s asylum seeker policy which is stretching local services to breaking point.

The latest Home Office figures have shown that one in every 204 people in Rochdale is now an asylum seeker.

Outsource firms G4S, Serco and Clearsprings hold the Government contracts to distribute asylum seekers and are incentivised to find the cheapest possible options.

The result is a heavy concentration of 'asylum seeker ghettos' in urban areas of the North of England.

Only the major cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow host more asylum seekers than Rochdale.

Speaking in a debate on local Government funding, in Parliament, Mr Danczuk said: “The Government has cut millions upon millions of pounds from Rochdale’s council budget.

“They have dumped hundreds of asylum seekers in our town, adding pressure to already overstretched local services.”

Just 95 of the country’s 326 local authorities take responsibility for housing asylum seekers. A recent Home Affairs Select Committee report criticised councils which refuse to take in asylum seekers while towns like Rochdale house more than 1,000.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Danczuk said: “I do not use the word ‘dumped’ lightly. It is the only way to describe the callous and impersonal way the Government has treated these vulnerable people.

“They have been left in such large numbers in low cost housing in an area which is financially ill-equipped to support them due to unprecedented cuts from the Conservative Government.

“Instead of automatically housing asylum seekers in areas with the cheapest accommodation, the Government should force all areas to take an equal share of asylum seekers coming to the UK.

“This would ease the strain on Rochdale and improve the quality of life for asylum seekers.”