Buying asylum-seeker housing paused in city

Protests against houses of multiple occupation have taken place in other parts of the region, such as this one in Peterlee

Buying houses for asylum seekers to live in has been temporarily paused in a city.

Labour leader of Sunderland City Council Michael Mordey said there would be a pause on the purchase of homes for asylum seekers after a Home Office decision.

It follows a similar pause initiated in County Durham in June.

The Home Office said the allocation of asylum seekers to dispersed accommodation in Sunderland had been paused as the city had met its targets.

Dispersal accommodation is longer-term, temporary housing where asylum seekers can stay while their claim is being assessed.

Mordey said Sunderland was a "welcoming city" but that it was also right that "other places take their responsibility to support vulnerable people just as seriously as we do".

As of 31 March, there were 830 asylum seekers housed by the government in Sunderland, which is home to about 275,000 people, according to latest Home Office statistics.

Newcastle City Council, which covers an area home to about 300,000 people, houses just over 1,200 asylum seekers.

The purchase of new asylum accommodation in County Durham was paused for three months because the Home Office said it had "sufficient capacity" in the region already.