Wolverhampton joins Birmingham in exiting housing contract with UK Border Agency

Wolverhampton City Council has followed its counterpart in Birmingham by announcing plans to exit a contract with the UK Border Agency to provide accommodation to asylum seekers.

Cllr Les Pugh, Wolverhampton’s cabinet member for adults, said the local authority would pull out on 30 June 2011, when the existing five-year agreement comes to a conclusion.

He said: “This has been a difficult decision to make, but one that is in the interests of local people given the pressures on our housing waiting list.”

Wolverhampton revealed that there are 13,405 people on its waiting list for council housing, of which 6,868 are in housing need as classified under its housing allocations policy.

Cllr Pugh added that Wolverhampton would continue to provide up to 124 homes for asylum seekers until the end of the contract, and would also work with the UK Border Agency to find alternative services to take over in June 2011.

Wolverhampton’s decision to exit from the West Midlands Consortium’s deal with the UK Border Agency mirrors that taken by Birmingham City Council, which provides 190 homes under the current arrangements.