Durham County Council

Asylum and Migration · drafted 2026-07-02 · accepted · 4 finding(s)

← council-level findings on this theme

16 Jul 2025No decision, motion or executive position to limit, withdraw from or set conditions on the National Transfer Scheme or County Durham's support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) appears in the council's published minutes; when a councillor pressed the cabinet in July 2025 on whether UASC would be treated equitably with other children in care, the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People's Services affirmed that corporate parenting responsibilities were taken seriously for all children in care, and separately, Corporate Parenting Panel minutes record only routine reporting of children relocated to Durham under the national transfer scheme. [1][2][3]

25 Nov 2025No motion or formal council position opposing asylum hotels or Home Office migrant accommodation appears in County Durham's published minutes; at the 25 November 2025 Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee, officers instead told members the council had already reached its Home Office allocation for asylum seekers, so no further asylum accommodation was required. [4][5]

25 Nov 2025At the same 25 November 2025 scrutiny meeting, Councillor Hope raised the national closure of migrant hotels in the context of a general debate on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) growth and a Countywide Article 4 Direction (which restricts permitted development rights for HMO conversions), but this was framed as a housing/community-cohesion issue rather than a motion opposing asylum accommodation itself; Councillor Bowman's proposal was that the Committee Chair write to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder about accelerating the general (non-asylum-specific) Article 4 Direction. [6][7]

Rather than limiting or capping intake, County Durham's response to rising UASC referrals under the National Protocol Arrangements was to propose acquiring additional supported-accommodation properties: a May 2026 Cabinet report on property and supported accommodation records that increased UASC allocation via the National Protocol Arrangements had driven up local use of supported accommodation, and forecasts continued allocations of UASC as a reason demand will keep rising. [8][9]

References (9)
  1. Minutes, 16 July 2025 “Given that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are among the most vulnerable young people in our communities, will the cabinet member now answer the question that was left unanswered last week in the cabinet meeting. Will all children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, be treated with equity”
  2. Minutes, 16 July 2025 “corporate parenting responsibilities were taken seriously for all of our children in care and as a member of the Corporate Parenting committee Councillor Neill would have the opportunity to support us in that endeavour”
  3. Minutes “Councillor Walton referred to the report that detailed 4% of children in our care were unaccommodated asylum seeking young people and asked if they had been located to Durham under a national transfer scheme. The Practice Lead, Children and young people clarified that these were vulnerable young people aged 11 and over who had been relocated under a national transfer scheme”
  4. Minutes, 25 November 2025 “The Strategy and Delivery Manager advised that the Authority receives an allocation figure from Government for the number of Asylum Seekers to be placed in County Durham. He confirmed that the county has now reached this allocation, and”
  5. Minutes, 25 November 2025 “therefore no additional Asylum accommodation will be required at this time. He added that some other Local Authorities have not yet met their Government targets.”
  6. Minutes, 25 November 2025 “He noted the national closure of migrant hotels and indicated that the individuals leaving these hotels would need alternative accommodation.”
  7. Minutes, 25 November 2025 “Councillor Bowman proposed that the Chair of the Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee write to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder to convey Members’ concerns regarding the delay in implementing a Countywide Article 4 Direction.”
  8. Document “allocation of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) referrals via the National Protocol Arrangements (primarily aged 16+ with needs met in supported lodgings or supported accommodation) has increased local use”
  9. Document “It is anticipated that demand for supported accommodation will continue to increase, as we have an increasing number of older children in care, pressures across fostering services, ongoing sufficiency challenges in children’s homes and continued allocations of UASC”