Blackburn with Darwen refugee surge sparks housing crisis

The 'stark increase' led to the council having to use bed and breakfast accommodation to house refugees to prevent them from becoming homeless, as the number of asylum seekers in the borough more than doubled from two years ago.

The authority's housing boss Councillor Damian Talbot revealed the problem at Thursday, October 10's meeting of its executive board, but said its officers had managed to cope with the strain.

The problem was revealed as Cllr Talbot was confirming the receipt of a £561,000 Home Office Asylum Dispersal Grant to the council for 2024/25.

The borough has been a nominated asylum dispersal area for decades under a deal brokered by former Blackburn MP Jack Straw when he was a Labour cabinet minister, for which it has received government financial support for those accommodated by contractor Serco.

Cllr Damian Talbot laid out the strain the borough has faced in recent months

Cllr Talbot also called on the government to expand the number of areas of these dispersal areas to widen the load across the country, while Tory Cllr John Slater said big cities should bear the burden instead of towns like Blackburn and Darwen.

Earlier this year, as the Home Office stepped up efforts to clear the backlog of claims, town hall officials faced a new crisis in finding housing for those granted refugee status.

The scale of the problem was revealed in a report to the council's Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee.

It said: "Blackburn with Darwen has seen a stark increase in the number of homeless approaches from households who have been required to leave asylum accommodation after receiving positive decisions on their asylum claims.

"The reason for this is twofold - the Home Office tackling the asylum application backlog at pace, and the Home Office procuring a high number of units of asylum accommodation in the borough.

"There are currently, on average, 762 asylum seekers in the borough.

"This compares to a figure of 373 in April 2022, showing the increase in demand.

Blackburn with Darwen has a proud history of welcoming those fleeing persecution, such as Ali Mahdavi, Saif Nemir and Christine Muanda, who settled here in 2012 "Since August 1 2023, the housing needs team has received 333 discontinuation notices from Serco, which is ending support and accommodation further to households receiving positive decisions from the Home Office.

"This increase in demand did lead to Blackburn with Darwen having to utilise bed and breakfast accommodation to temporarily accommodate families.

"The published statutory homelessness data for October to December 2023 shows that ‘Required to leave accommodation provided by the Home Office as asylum support’ was the third highest reason for the loss of last settled accommodation for those households owed a homelessness duty by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

"This is higher levels than regionally and nationally and has added some further pressure to an already stretched homelessness service."

Cllr Talbot told the executive board meeting: "Blackburn with Darwen has been established as an asylum seeker dispersal area for more than 20 years, and this report confirms the annual support grant provided by the government.

"Our borough has a strong record of supporting those fleeing from persecution.

"At health scrutiny in August we reported the housing section was facing pressure as the previous Conservative government had adopted a policy of fast-tracking and approving asylum claims in order to clear their backlog.

"This had meant that more decisions were being processed in a short period.

"While the Home Office directly provides accommodation for asylum seekers through its Serco contract, when a person gains refugee status they lose this accommodation and it then falls onto the responsibility of the local authority to ensure accommodation.

"I am pleased to report the strain previously seen has now reduced as the numbers being processed have dropped.

"My only continued ask is that the government continues to widen the number of dispersal areas.

"We have a proud record of supporting people but it is important this work is shared across the country."

Borough Conservative group leader Cllr John Slater said after the meeting: "It is a bad idea to do asylum dispersal in Blackburn with Darwen.

"It puts added pressure on services such as housing, healthcare and schools.

"It is not fair on our residents. It should be done in big cities."