Northumberland has lowest concentration of asylum seekers

Northumberland County Council has set up a multi-agency steering group to look at the issue of asylum seekers and refugees.
Northumberland County Council has set up a multi-agency steering group to look at the issue of asylum seekers and refugees.

Northumberland is the local-authority area with the lowest concentration of asylum seekers per population in Great Britain, according to the latest Home Office data.

The calculations are based on the latest data from the Home Office for the period October to December 2015.

The locations in Britain with the 10 lowest concentrations of asylum seekers per population are:

1. Northumberland

2. Wiltshire

3. North Somerset

4. Fife

5. Bath and North East Somerset

6. West Lothian

7. Falkirk

8. Poole

9. Knowsley

10. Mid Sussex

At the other end of the scale, the 10 highest concentrations are:

1. Middlesbrough

2. Glasgow

3. Rochdale

4. Cardiff

5. Stockton-on-Tees

6. Bolton

7. Swansea

8. Liverpool

9. Newport

10. Oldham

Last month, Northumberland's situation regarding refugees and asylum seekers was discussed at a meeting of the county council's cabinet. It was reported that Northumberland County Council is one of three authorities in the region – the others are Durham and Darlington – that have not previously been asylum dispersal areas as contractor G4S has chosen not to identify accommodation, as opposed to the council refusing to offer support.