VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Cost of asylum accommodation jumps to £15bn
08/05/2025 The cost of providing asylum accommodation between 2019 and 2029 is expected to triple to £15.3bn. |
Asylum hotel contingency plan activated
27/03/2025 The Home Office has activated contingency plans following the axing of an asylum hotel contractor. |
Lack of asylum funding snag for reorganisation
20/02/2025 Funding for asylum seeker support has emerged as a sticking point in Kent's reorganisation plans. |
Home Office spent almost £100m on failed asylum sites
05/02/2025 A ‘dysfunctional’ culture at the Home Office meant key controls were abandoned in the procurement of failed asylum sites that cost almost £100m, according to a scathing new report. |
Home Office doubles time for new refugees to find home
06/12/2024 The Home Office will temporarily give new refugees more time to move on from asylum accommodation, in a move it is hoped will reduce pressure on councils’ homelessness services. |
Asylum hotel use may increase as small boat crossings continue
11/09/2024 Asylum hotels are expected to remain open for months, with the Home Office privately suggesting they will be required for longer than originally planned, The MJ understands. |
LGA calls for longer asylum move-on time
11/09/2024 Councils have called for people to be allowed more time to leave Home Office accommodation after receiving an asylum decision. |
Controversial plans to build asylum site at RAF Scampton axed
06/09/2024 RAF Scampton will no longer be used to house asylum seekers, according to the local authority. |
Call for council role in asylum housing
29/08/2024 A call has been made for a more prominent role for local government in asylum accommodation. |
Council leader: Attack on asylum hotel ‘confirms worst fears’ about disorder
05/08/2024 The leader of Rotherham council said an attempt to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers had ‘confirmed our worst fears’ about the nature of recent disorder across the country. |
Lone asylum-seeking child arrivals to Kent up 87%
15/07/2024 The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking (UAS) children arriving in the UK along Kent’s shoreline has risen by 87%. |
Rough sleeping in London hits new record high
27/06/2024 The final year of a Conservative government that pledged to end rough sleeping saw a record number of people sleeping on the streets of London. |
Party leaders urged to act on migrant homelessness
25/06/2024 More than 100 homelessness and migrants’ rights organisations have called on the next government to stop the asylum system ‘driving people needlessly’ into destitution. |
Inquiry call over asylum hotel use
17/06/2024 A charity has called for a statutory independent inquiry into the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children. |
EXCLUSIVE: Full dispersal asylum targets still in draft
12/06/2024 Ministers have not signed off the Government’s 2024 targets for identifying an extra 100,000 bedspaces for asylum seekers this year, The MJ can reveal. |
Judge: Kent cannot wriggle out of asylum duties
05/06/2024 Kent CC has been told by a judge it cannot wriggle out of its duties to ‘accommodate and look after’ all unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children. |
Braintree withdraws legal challenge over asylum site
31/05/2024 Braintree District Council has withdrawn a legal challenge over the Government's use of former airfield RAF Wethersfield to house asylum seekers. |
Ending asylum hotel use could put ‘unacceptable pressure’ on councils
29/05/2024 MPs have raised concerns that the Government has not engaged effectively with councils about the impact of its asylum policies on local areas. |
Agreement reached over asylum site
29/05/2024 West Lindsey District Council is set to launch a £300m regeneration scheme at RAF Scampton after the Home Office agreed to accommodate fewer asylum seekers at the site. |
Government digs in over asylum housing target
29/05/2024 Home Office has doubled down on council concerns over asylum targets and insisted Full Dispersal can ‘strike balance between equity and housing availability’. |
EXCLUSIVE: Councils given 100,000 asylum housing target
21/05/2024 Councils have been told to identify an extra 100,000 bedspaces for asylum seekers amid Home Office expectations of a surge in arrivals, The MJ can reveal. |
Asylum seekers moved from RAF Wethersfield due to incomplete safety checks
18/04/2024 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
12/04/2024 Councils are struggling to cope with demand for age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) as record numbers arrive once again in Kent. |
Aslyum centre site could host prison
25/03/2024 Braintree DC has warned it faces intervention from a second Government department when the Home Office ends its use of a former airfield as an asylum centre. |
Hopes for regen scheme revived after Home Office scales back asylum plan
20/03/2024 A £300m council-led regeneration scheme threatened when Whitehall commandeered the site for asylum accommodation could now go ahead. |
Craig's call for asylum change
07/03/2024 Manchester City Council’s leader has urged Whitehall to implement ‘simple changes’ to asylum policy to ease huge pressures on major urban centres. |
Home Office 'chaos' leaves thousands of illegal arrivals in 'perma-backlog'
27/02/2024 The Government’s struggling asylum policy has heaped significant demand on cities’ housing services, experts have warned. |
New legal bid as long-term asylum site plans confirmed
02/02/2024 West Lindsey DC has launched a fresh legal challenge after the Home Office confirmed its intention to use RAF Scampton to house asylum seekers. |
Council slams ‘lack of transparency’ over RAF Wethersfield extension
31/01/2024 Braintree District Council has criticised the Home Office after its plans emerged to extend the use of a former airfield for asylum accommodation by three years. |
Council confirms asylum centre appeal
21/12/2023 West Lindsey DC is to appeal against the dismissal of its judicial review over the Home Office’s asylum centre plans. |
Barge death concerns
18/12/2023 Concerns over conditions inside some asylum accommodation intensified last week, after the death of an asylum seeker onboard the Bibby Stockholm barge. |
Boroughs have ‘nothing to offer’ as refugee homelessness rises
07/12/2023 New research has found that an increasing number of refugees are rough sleeping in London after leaving Home Office accommodation. |
Damning reality of asylum
05/12/2023 A shocking public health report by Hounslow LBC exposes bleak conditions as councils urge Home Office and contractors to improve. |
Home Office admits 'more we can and need to do'
30/11/2023 More needs to be done to share data and improve communications with councils, Home Office mandarins have admitted. |
Home Secretary acted ‘irrationally’ over National Transfer Scheme
29/11/2023 The Home Secretary’s powers have been exercised ‘irrationally’ when it comes to the decision-making process in relation to the National Transfer Scheme (NTS), the High Court has ruled. |
Thousands of refugees face homelessness at Christmas, LGA warns
29/11/2023 The Government’s push to clear the asylum backlog is putting ‘tens of thousands’ of refugees at risk of homelessness over Christmas, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
EXCLUSIVE: Asylum seeker dispersal only reaches 60% mark
23/11/2023 The Home Office’s Full Dispersal policy of placing asylum seekers across all UK regions has delivered just 60% of Whitehall’s target. |
Councillors urge Government to respect Rwanda ruling
16/11/2023 Nearly 130 councillors have urged the Government to respect the Supreme Court’s ruling on its controversial plans to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda. |
Councils brace as Supreme Court outlaws Rwanda asylum plan
15/11/2023 The Supreme Court has ruled the UK’s controversial proposal to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful – a decision likely to impact local government. |
Housing minister among casualties of Sunak reshuffle
13/11/2023 The UK will have its 16th housing minister in 12 years after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s sweeping reshuffle affected the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. |
‘Tragic and shameful’ rough sleeping increase in London
01/11/2023 City Hall had told the Government it must act to avoid ‘spiralling’ homelessness this winter after new data showed rising rough sleeping across the capital. |
Temporary accommodation costs mount to £1.74bn
27/10/2023 English councils spent £1.74bn on temporary accommodation last year, research has found as more than 100 local authorities signed up to an ‘emergency’ housing summit. |
Home Office 'failing to engage' councils
26/10/2023 The Home Office is ‘failing to engage meaningfully with local authorities’ on asylum, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published today. |
Homelessness fears over asylum fast-tracking
26/10/2023 The largest city councils in England and Scotland fear that Government plans to speed up asylum decisions will result in thousands of people facing homelessness. |
LGA: involve councils in asylum hotel decisions
25/10/2023 Councils want an active role in decisions about ending hotel use for asylum seekers, local government bosses have said. |
EXCLUSIVE: Home Office accused of misleading council over asylum plans
24/10/2023 The Home Office faces accusations in the High Court it misled a council over controversial plans for an asylum centre at a former military base. |
Council bosses raise concerns over refugee cap
23/10/2023 The Local Government Association (LGA) has raised concerns about plans to introduce a national cap on refugees that is informed by consultation with local authorities. |
Asylum seekers to be returned to Bibby Stockholm
11/10/2023 Asylum seekers are being notified that they will be sent back to a migrant barge, which was closed after legionella bacteria was detected. |
‘For-profit’ asylum housing system must end, charity says
11/10/2023 Responsibility for asylum accommodation must be returned to local authorities from private companies, the charity Refugee Action has said. |
Home Office ditches Stradey Park asylum plans
10/10/2023 The Home Office has withdrawn its controversial plans to house asylum seekers at the Stradey Park Hotel in Furnace, Llanelli. |
EXCLUSIVE: Council warning over asylum communication
03/10/2023 ‘Limited’ Home Office communication over asylum – including poor data sharing - continues to stymie efforts to resolve accommodation problems, councils warn. |
Further stop notice at RAF Scampton
25/09/2023 West Lindsey District Council has again told the Home Office to cease work at RAF Scampton. |
Cash injection for Kent as councils drag feet on National Transfer Scheme
18/09/2023 Government has given Kent £10m for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children amid concerns other councils have been slow to support the National Transfer Scheme. |
Council halts Home Office work on RAF Scampton
08/09/2023 West Lindsey District Council has ordered the Home Office to stop work to convert a former military base into accommodation for asylum seekers. |
Pressure mounts on councils amid refugee homelessness warning
06/09/2023 Refugees are being told to move out of asylum support housing at short notice, adding to pressure faced by council homelessness services, 140 groups warn. |
Kent ‘once again’ cannot meet UAS children duties
29/08/2023 ‘Ever-escalating’ arrivals of asylum seekers and a ‘wholly inadequate’ National Transfer Scheme (NTS) have left Kent unable to meet its statutory duties in caring for children, the county council has warned. |
EXCLUSIVE: Questions over child age assessments
25/08/2023 Council directors have raised doubts over Government plans to take over age assessments of unaccompanied asylum seeking children. |
Asylum ‘perma-backlog’ to impact councils
22/08/2023 Reforms to the UK’s asylum system are likely to pile more pressure on councils struggling to support unaccompanied children, a new report has found. |
Approach to accommodating Afghan families ‘unacceptable’
15/08/2023 The approach to finding accommodation for Afghan families has been ‘unacceptable’ and represents a failure to ‘live up to Britain's values’, says think tank. |
Local mayor plans Bibby Stockholm legal challenge
09/08/2023 The Mayor of Portland is planning on launching a legal challenge against the Home Office over the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to house asylum seekers. |
Glasgow refuses permission for asylum barge
08/08/2023 The leader of Glasgow City Council has told the Government that the local authority would not give its consent to dock a barge for asylum seekers in the city. |
LGA: Councils already seeing homeless Afghan families
07/08/2023 Councils are already seeing Afghan families presenting as homeless due to the Government’s policy of moving them out of hotels, local authority leaders say. |
Firefighters warn Braverman over asylum barge safety
03/08/2023 The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has written to Suella Braverman about fire safety concerns in accommodation for asylum seekers, including the Bibby Stockholm. |
‘Systematic’ housing of child refugees in hotels unlawful
27/07/2023 Kent County Council has acted unlawfully by failing to accommodate and look after all unaccompanied children seeking asylum, the High Court has ruled. |
First asylum barge arrives
18/07/2023 A controversial barge for 500 asylum seekers today arrived at its mooring off the Dorset coast. |
Dismay at 'top-down diktat' approach to asylum
11/07/2023 Councils and MPs this week expressed dismay at the Home Office’s ‘top-down diktat’ plan to double asylum seeker numbers at many hotels. |
Council loses legal bid over asylum hotel plans
10/07/2023 Carmarthenshire CC has been unsuccessful in its application for an interim injunction to prevent asylum seekers being housed at a hotel in Llanelli. |
Council launches legal action over hotel due to house asylum seekers
07/07/2023 Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) is taking legal action over plans to use a hotel in Llanelli to house asylum seekers. |
Kent launches legal action over asylum-seeking children
06/07/2023 Kent has issued a claim for judicial review against the home secretary, asking her to direct other councils to receive 'fair share’ of refugee children. |
'Not acceptable' to treat age disputed young people as spontaneous arrivals
06/07/2023 It is ‘not acceptable’ that age disputed young people from asylum hotels are treated as spontaneous arrivals, says head of directors of children’s services. |
Afghan families face homelessness as councils at ‘crisis point’
04/07/2023 Afghan families are at risk of becoming homeless due to the acute housing shortage, council chiefs warn at the start of the LGA's annual conference. |
Planning inspector green lights Stafford asylum centre
26/06/2023 A Government planning inspector has overruled the local planning authority and given the go-ahead for an asylum seekers centre in Stafford. |
Council loses asylum appeal
26/06/2023 Braintree DC has lost its appeal against Government plans to house asylum seekers on a former airfield. |
Manchester leaders call for urgent action on asylum seeker hotels
22/06/2023 Manchester leaders call for urgent action on asylum seeker hotels |
Asylum issues damaging Home Office relations with councils
16/06/2023 The Home Office is ‘failing to work effectively with local authorities’ in clearing its asylum backlog, the National Audit Office (NAO) has concluded. |
Plan to house asylum seekers on ship scrapped
12/06/2023 The latest plan for a cruise ship to house asylum seekers has been scrapped after it was turned down by the port operator. |
Council chiefs call for ‘urgent solutions’ to refugee homelessness
09/06/2023 Local authority leaders have called for ‘urgent solutions’ to the issue of refugees being forced to present as homeless. |
Aslyum barges plan branded ‘cruel and unworkable’
08/06/2023 A council leader has attacked plans to house asylum seekers on barges in ports. |
Housing experts voice ‘concern’ over HMO licensing changes
25/05/2023 Housing and refugee rights experts have voiced ‘extreme concern’ over plans to remove licensing requirements for HMOs used as asylum accommodation. |
Braintree DC plans to appeal court’s airfield decision
12/05/2023 Braintree District Council is to continue with legal action to try and stop an airfield being used to house hundreds of asylum seekers. |
Welsh village opposes plans to house refugees in hotel
09/05/2023 Villagers in Wales have vowed to fight plans for 400 asylum seekers to be lodged in a former hotel. |
Council has ‘unanswered questions’ about refugee barge
04/05/2023 Dorset Council and police have criticised the Home Office for not answering key questions about plans to house asylum seekers on a barge in Portland Port. |
Hundreds of refugees wrongly classified as adults, FoI reveals
25/04/2023 Hundreds of young refugees are being wrongly classified as adults by the Home Office, according to new research based on information provided by councils. |
Refugees housed in hotels face ‘atmosphere of cruelty’, report says
24/04/2023 Campaigners have called on the Government to allocate councils with more funds to help them provide better services to asylum seekers housed in London hotels. |
Councils concerned over Afghan removal plan
12/04/2023 Councils have expressed deep concerns about Government plans to remove Afghan refugees from hotel accommodation amid ‘chronic’ shortage of affordable housing. |
Plan to house refugees on former RAF base on hold
11/04/2023 The Government’s plan to house asylum seekers on a former RAF airbase has been put on hold after Braintree council sought an injunction to stop the move. |
Portland mayor criticises refugee barge plan
06/04/2023 Portland mayor Pete Roper has criticised the Government’s plan to house refugees on a barge off the Dorset coast because of the pressure on local services. |
Plan to house refugees on a barge criticised
04/04/2023 The Government is facing fierce opposition to plans to use a barge off the Dorset coast to house asylum seekers. |
Councils criticise plans to house refugees on RAF bases
30/03/2023 Unused military sites will be used to house asylum seekers who enter the UK illegally on small boats despite local opposition, the Government has confirmed. |
Gary Lineker twitter row ‘fuss about nothing’, says mayor
13/03/2023 Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen calls for Gary Lineker to be reinstated on Match of the Day and tells everyone to ‘grow up’. |
Change policy on housing asylum seekers in hotels, council chiefs say
13/03/2023 Two-thirds of London’s councils have called on the home secretary to change the Government’s policy on housing asylum seekers in hotels. |
Plans to house asylum seekers in a Pontins park abandoned
03/02/2023 The Government has decided not to continue with its plans to house asylum seekers in a Pontins Holiday Park on Merseyside, according to the local council. |
Council calls for review into missing children
30/01/2023 Brighton & Hove City Council has called for a safeguarding review after dozens of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children went missing from a hotel in the city. |
Councillors call for end to outsourcing asylum accommodation
30/01/2023 Local councillors from across the UK have called on the Government to stop outsourcing asylum accommodation to for-profit companies. |
Councils flooded with ‘bogus’ refugee sponsorship offers
10/01/2023 Local authorities in London are struggling to cope with the amount of bogus Ukraine refugee sponsorship offers they receive, a migrants’ charity has warned. |
East Lindsey due for court battle
06/01/2023 East Lindsey DC is threatening to become the latest council to take legal action over the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers. |
Two more councils seek injunctions over use of hotels to house asylum seekers
09/11/2022 Two more councils have taken legal action to stop local hotels from being used to house asylum seekers. |
Council writs fly over asylum crisis
01/11/2022 Growing numbers of councils are securing injunctions preventing the use of hotels to house asylum seekers as ministers struggle to deal with an increasing backlog. |
222 children ‘missing’ from care
24/10/2022 An estimated 222 unaccompanied children are currently missing from the care of the Home Office, new figures have revealed. |
Council to pay £1000 to those hosting Ukrainian guests
21/10/2022 Kent CC has announced it is increasing payments to those hosting Ukrainian guests to ensure that they can continue to host with the squeeze on budgets. |
