More funding to house asylum seekers in Blackburn
Blackburn with Darwen Council has been given a grant of £855,600
Last updated 11th Aug 2025
Blackburn with Darwen Council has been given a grant of £855,600 to pay for the accommodation of more than 700 asylum seekers in the borough.
The 2025/26 figure is an increase from the previous year’s £561,000.
The latest Home Office Asylum Dispersal Grant total is revealed in a report by the council’s housing boss Cllr Damian Talbot to next week’s meeting of the authority’s ruling executive board.
It also reveals that the borough housed 713 asylum seekers on March 30.
Cllr Talbot’s report says: “There are currently no further plans to procure additional dispersed accommodation for asylum seekers in the local authority area as the area is already considered to be housing the allocated number .”
The borough has been a nominated asylum dispersal area for decades for which it receives government financial support for those accommodated by contractor Serco.
The report follows exchanges on the issue at last month’s Council Forum where authority leader Cllr Phil Riley said he expected the borough to become home to some of the Afghan military veterans currently housed in the Tickled Trout Hotel near the M6’s Junction 31.
In October Cllr Talbot revealed that Blackburn with Darwen had received a summer surge in the number of former asylum seekers seeking emergency housing following being granted refugee status.
"equitable distribution"
His report to Thursday’s meeting says: “A focus of the government in recent years has been to ensure a more equitable distribution of asylum seekers across the UK and to move people out of hotels.
“Asylum seekers in the UK are not housed in luxury or ‘5-star hotels’ – this is a common misconception.
“Under the 1951 Geneva Convention, the UK is obligated to provide basic support to those seeking asylum while their claims are processed.
“This includes essential accommodation and a small weekly allowance to cover basic needs.
“Accommodation is typically in shared housing or temporary facilities, and while hotels have been used in recent years due to capacity issues, these are often budget hotels with minimal amenities
“Once an asylum seeker’s claim is resolved, they are no longer entitled to the same level of support.
“If granted refugee status, they must transition to mainstream housing and welfare systems.
“If their claim is refused, they may lose access to accommodation entirely.
“A revised asylum seeker offer was created for 2023/24.
“This service has been running in its current form for the past two years and successfully supporting the dispersal and settlement of asylum seekers.
“Specialist housing support officers, and community integration and engagement officers work closely with the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector to support asylum seekers to identify, manage and sustain accommodation, support general welfare, access English language provision, navigate welfare systems and education, training and employment opportunities, and much more.
“For 2025/26 it is proposed to extend the existing asylum seeker support model for a further 12 months.
“It is also proposed that some of the grant continues to be utilised to assist with the costs of accessing and setting up tenancies for asylum seekers, as well as a proportion used for temporary accommodation cost pressures that positive decisions on asylum claims can create.”