Heated debate over plan to ask for asylum housing locations

Durham County Council will ask the Government to tell all of its councillors where migrant housing is located, despite ‘safeguarding’ concerns raised during a heated debate, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Joshua Nichol.

Councillors backed a motion on Wednesday (October 21) which would see the council leader write to the Government to ask them to reveal data on where migrant housing is located.

Deputy council leader Darren Grimes said a lack of information about HMOs being used in County Durham was causing resentment in communities.

“It is a terraced house here. It is a flat there. We don’t know. They pop up like weeds,” he said.

“[People] elected Reform to give them the transparency and the data they were crying out for. That is all we are asking for, to be informed with the facts.”

The motion was heard late in the meeting after councillors twice agreed to extend its running time and debate became heated when Cllr Grimes accused Liberal Democrat Ellie Hopgood of calling him a ‘racist’ off-microphone.

Cllr Hopgood said she had called the motion a ‘disgrace’.

Cllr Dawn Bellingham, who submitted the motion, said the authority had already struggled to get information from the Home Office.

She said: “I have been in many meetings with Home Office representatives that will not provide us with any data that we have been asking for.”

A Liberal Democrat amendment sought to ask for data to be provided to council officers, rather than councillors, because of safeguarding concerns.

Green councillor Jonathan Elmer said he had ‘huge concerns’ about the motion and warned against providing detailed information about where people were living and referred to a recent incident involving a refugee in County Durham.

He said: “There’s been an incident recently within County Durham. I’m not going to say where. But the police have records of it, of where a refugee who was into a property.

“People found out where they lived, a gang of fellas with black hoods turned up, smashed all the windows, and put fireworks through their letter

Cllr Mark Wilkes also raised concerns about sensitive information potentially entering the public domain.

He said: “I don’t believe we should pass a motion which can potentially hand over information which should never be handed over to the public domain.

“I don’t actually believe it will be legal.”