Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, from which local authorities he has received written correspondence since August 2018 indicating that they may withdraw from the asylum dispersal scheme.

The Home Office has received a number of letters from Local Authorities relating to asylum dispersal and is working closely with a wide range of local authorities to increase the number of areas across the UK that agree to accommodate and support people seeking protection.

We take a coordinated approach to the delivery of the various resettlement and asylum schemes and engage through the Regional Strategic Migration Partnerships to consider the impact on communities and local services so that adjustments can be made where appropriate. Participation in asylum dispersal is subject to discussion and agreement with individual local authorities and there is no target level of participation - every local authority is encouraged to contribute.