Asylum seeker 'share' plea by Newport council

The number of people desperate to reach Europe has caused a crisis across the continent

Newport City Council has called for other local authorities to take a "greater share" of asylum seekers, saying it was reaching its limit.

Local MP Paul Flynn said the dispersal system was placing a "great burden" on the city and its public services.

He said the number of asylum seekers in Newport had doubled since 2012.

The council said it was "extremely sympathetic" to the plight of Syrian refugees, but was "now close to its maximum quota" under government policy.

Chancellor George Osborne said Britain had accepted 5,000 refugees from Syria so far, but Labour has called on the UK government to commit to take at least 10,000.

Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies has called on Britain to "take its share", but would not say how many that should be.

'Significant pressures'

Official statistics show that at the end of June, Wales had 2,355 asylum seekers, around 7.6 percent of the UK total of 30,457 and the highest level since 2007.

The UK says its aid donations are helping keep people alive at refugee camps in the Middle East

Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham are the UK's designated dispersal areas in Wales for asylum seekers.

Mr Flynn, MP for Newport West, said the city had fewer than 200 asylum seekers in 2012 but nearly 460 now.

"Newcomers bring the benefit of a more diverse, vibrant city but create significant pressures on local services such as schools," he said.

Writing on his blog, he accused senior Tories of providing shelter to few refugees in their own constituencies.

A spokesperson for Newport City Council said a "significant number" of asylum seeking families had been placed in the city over the past few years.

"There has been a vast increase in the level of dispersals over recent months because of the increasingly desperate situations in Syria and other countries," the spokesperson added.

"As a result, Newport is now close to its maximum quota of asylum seekers according to UK government policy.

"We fully support those who are trying to assist people who have had to flee their countries and believe other council areas, particularly in south east Wales, should now be taking a greater share of asylum seekers."