The leader of Portsmouth City Council has condemned the Home Office for sending the majority of asylum-seekers in the South East to them.
Speaking after a meeting with immigration minister, Liam Byrne, Cllr Gerald Vernon- Jackson said Portsmouth received 87% of all the dispersed asylum-seekers in the region.
'Portsmouth has been a dispersal area for asylum-seekers since 1997, and we continue to work closely with our partners in the city to ensure those who need our help get it,' he said. 'However, the proportion placed within the city is far higher than in other dispersal areas in the South East.
'Although no asylum-seekers are placed in Portsmouth City Council  housing, a strain is inevitably placed on some other services.' Cllr Vernon-Jackson said the Government should introduce a fairer system of dispersal. A Home Office spokeswoman said: 'Portsmouth currently supports 2% of asylum-seekers in the UK.
'There have been no new asylum-seekers dispersed in Portsmouth since September.
'The Home Office also works with local authorities to reimburse them where asylum-seekers have used public services.'