LACK OF GOVERNMENT DIALOGUE ON ASYLUM SEEKERS

THE SOUTH EAST ENGLAND REGIONAL ASSEMBLY has taken the Home Secretary, David Blunkett to task about the lack of consultation undertaken by the Home Office in planning for accommodation centres for asylum seekers in the South East.

In a recent letter to David Blunkett, Chair of the Regional Assembly, Cllr Nick Skellett highlighted the apparent reluctance of the Government to consult with local authorities about the planning of centres for asylum seekers entering the UK through the South East.

Cllr Skellett said: "South East councils are more than willing to work with the Government to find solutions to the problems created by the volume of asylum seekers in our region. Sadly the Government appears to prefer to make announcements about their arrangements out of the blue. The result of this is the risk of increased xenophobia amongst local population, fuelled by perceptions of unequal treatment.

"An example of this is in Gosport where a facility has been built with its own health facilities to avoid adding to local service pressures. A lack of local consultation has helped exacerbate the perception that those within the centre will have privileged access to services that the local population find increasingly hard to access.

"Refugees have a huge potential contribution to make to the country and we must do what we can to speed up their independent participation in social and economic life. We can be so much more effective at this if central and local government work together more constructively."

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
2. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
3. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007