The full list of towns and cities where taxpayers could end up paying the rent for Channel crossing migrants has been revealed.
According to the website of Serco, one of three private contractors working for the Home Office, the firm’s full dispersal portfolio currently spans across 120 local authorities.
It comes just hours after Serco was revealed to be offering landlords five-year guaranteed full rent deals at the taxpayer’s expense.
The list is split into three areas, the North West, the Midlands and the East of England, with Serco admitting: “We are continuing to work with new Local Authorities across our region to extend the Serco footprint.” However, the company’s website also stated: “All areas are currently closed for Procurement in the North West.”
Is your town impacted? Read the full lists below.
PA
The towns listed in the East of England are:
- Babergh/Mid Suffolk
- Breckland
- Broadlands/South Norfolk
- Cambridge
- East Cambridgeshire
- East Suffolk
- Fenland
- Great Yarmouth
- Ipswich
- Kings Lynn & West Norfolk
- Mid Suffolk
- North Norfolk
- Norwich
- Peterborough
- South Cambridgeshire (Cambourne, Sawston)
- South Norfolk
- West Suffolk (Bury, Newmarket, Brandon, Haverhill, Mildenhall)
This push comes after a new record for daily small boat arrivals was set earlier this monthPAThe towns and cities listed in the Midlands are:
- Amber Valley
- Ashfield
- Bassetlaw
- Birmingham
- Blaby
- Bolsover
- Boston
- Bromsgrove and Redditch
- Broxtowe
- Cannock Chase
- Charnwood
- Chesterfield
- Derby
- Derbyshire Dales
- Dudley
- East Lindsey
- East Staffordshire (Burton-upon-Trent and Uttoxeter)
- Erewash (Derbyshire)
- Gedling
- Harborough
- Herefordshire County
- High Peak
- Hinkley & Bosworth
- Huntingdonshire
- Leicester
- Lincoln
- Lichfield
- Malvern Hills
- Mansfield
- Melton
- Newark and Sherwood
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- North East Derbyshire
- North Kesteven (Lincolnshire)
- North Northamptonshire (Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough)
- North Warwickshire
- North West Leicestershire (Coalville)
- Nottingham
- Nuneaton and Bedworth
- Oadby & Wigston
- Rugby
- Rushcliffe
- Rutland
- Sandwell
- Shropshire
- Solihull
- South Derbyshire (Swadlincote)
- South Holland
- South Kesteven (Lincolnshire)
- South Staffordshire
- Stafford
- Staffordshire Moorlands
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Stratford-on-Avon
- Tamworth
- Telford and Wrekin
- Walsall
- Warwick ( Leamington Spa, Kenilworth)
- West Lindsey
- West Northamptonshire (Northampton & Daventry)
- Wolverhampton
- Worcester
- Wychavon
- Wyre Forest
A ‘refugees welcome’ banner attached to a bicycle by a small flotilla of boats leaving Bristol harbour
PA
The towns and cities listed in the North West are:
- Allerdale
- Barrow-in-Furness
- Blackburn & Darwen
- Blackpool
- Bolton
- Burnley
- Bury
- Carlisle
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Chorley
- Copeland
- Eden (Penrith)
- Flyde
- Halton
- Hyndburn
- Knowsley
- Lancaster
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Oldham
- Pendle
- Preston
- Ribble Valley
- Rochdale
- Rossendale
- Salford
- Sefton
- South Lakeland
- South Ribble
- Stockport
- St Helens
- Tameside
- Trafford
- Warrington
- West Lancashire
- Wigan
- Wirral
- Wyre
Home Office figures reveal contractors are now responsible for housing 65,700 asylum seekers, a 10-year highPA
There are approximately 1.3 million people on the social housing waiting list as cheaper private rented accommodation is in high demand.
One council leader told LBC: “It’s Serco who are encouraging landlords to exploit taxpayers, then it’s blamed on councils because of the impact it has on local rents, services and social cohesion. I don’t think it’s good for the fabric of society or the individuals involved.”
A Home Office spokesman said the department is “intensifying” collaboration with France and other countries over tackling gangs’ business models, and introducing tougher enforcement powers under new legislation.
