asylum
Asylum seekers moved from RAF Wethersfield due to incomplete safety checks
The Home Office has moved 70 people away from an asylum accommodation site after it failed to complete necessary safety checks on time.
EXCLUSIVE: Demand surges for UASC age assessments
Councils are struggling to cope with demand for age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) as record numbers arrive once again in Kent.
Support for Zane's Law gathers momentum
Two more councils have backed calls for greater transparency over contaminated land and waters following the death of a seven-year-old boy.
Asylum centre site could host prison
Braintree DC has warned it faces intervention from a second Government department when the Home Office ends its controversial use of a former airfield as an asylum centre.
What now for Ukrainian refugees?
In the two years since the war broke out in Ukraine, local government has stepped up to help refugees. What happens next, asks Maks Wieczorski
Hopes for regen scheme revived after Home Office scales back asylum plan
A £300m council-led regeneration scheme threatened when Whitehall commandeered the site for asylum accommodation could now go ahead after the plan was scaled down.
Meeting the needs of London’s care leavers
The Pan London Care Leavers’ Compact is only the start of the journey to better support care-experienced young people in the capital, says Matt Raleigh.
Judgment day
Kent and Home Office face growing pressure over asylum-seeking children.
Craig's call for asylum change
Manchester City Council’s leader has urged Whitehall to implement ‘simple changes’ to asylum policy to ease huge pressures on major urban centres.
What are the chances of a Budget boost?
New SIGOMA analysis highlights the huge decline in funding in recent years and the sector desperately needs a boost, says Heather Jameson. 'But the chances of one arriving in a tax-slashing pre-election Budget are slim.'
Home Office 'chaos' leaves thousands of illegal arrivals in 'perma-backlog'
The Government’s struggling asylum policy has heaped significant demand on cities’ housing services, experts have warned.
EXCLUSIVE: Councils offered second chance to claim housing cash
Civil servants have issued a last-minute invitation for councils to claim cash from a fund that has suffered from poor take up by local authorities.
Tackling homelessness
Homelessness is piling pressure on squeezed council budgets. The MJ and the National Audit Office teamed up to bring council chief executives and senior managers together in Manchester to get under the skin of the issue. Paul Marinko reports.
New legal bid as long-term asylum site plans confirmed
A council has launched a fresh judicial review after Government confirmed its intention to use RAF Scampton to house asylum seekers for another three years.
Braintree hits out as Home Office extends use of asylum centre
Braintree DC has accused the Home Office of acting ‘against the spirit of national planning policy’ by using a Special Development Order (SDO) to extend use of a controversial asylum centre.
Warnings over exemption from standards for asylum housing
Exempting asylum accommodation from “Awaab’s Law” risks more deaths due to poor housing conditions, experts have warned.
Council confirms asylum centre appeal
West Lindsey DC is to appeal against the dismissal of its judicial review over the Home Office’s asylum centre plans.
Barge death concerns
Concerns over conditions inside some asylum accommodation intensified this week, after the death of an asylum seeker onboard the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge.
The more things change
Funding and asylum policy are just two of the themes that have bookended an eventful year in local government. Martin Ford and Ann McGauran look at some of the big developments and talking points from the year as the sector braces for 2024.
The asylum mess needs cleaning up
'The current conditions in some asylum hotels make the prospect of Rwanda look like a soft option', says Heather Jameson. 'Hounslow has been heroic in highlighting the problems local staff have seen.'