Fewer asylum seekers here

THE number of asylum seekers being provided with homes in Oldham has fallen, according to latest figures.

The Government revealed that 410 are living in the area as of the end of March compared with 535 the previous quarter.

A further 945 asylum seekers are living in Manchester, 675 in Salford and 360 in neighbouring Rochdale at the end of March this year.

Across the North-West the Home Office figures show 5,365 asylum seekers living in the region — making it the second most popular place for asylum after Yorkshire and Humber with 5,385 people.

A further 25 asylum seekers are living in Oldham outside of the state-funded homes on “subsistence only” benefits.

A total of 375 are receiving this support for food and living costs in the North-West.

Border and immigration minister Liam Byrne said: “Britain’s borders are stronger than ever with asylum applications at an historic low and an immigration offender removed every eight minutes.

“Foreign lawbreakers are being removed from Britain at record levels with more than 2,500 deported so far this year.

“I have made it repeatedly clear that people who come here must earn the right to stay, work hard and play by the rules.”

Nationally last year the number of people applying for asylum fell to its lowest level since 1993 with 23,430 applications.

Between April and June this year 5,720 people applied for refuge, compared to 6,595 in the previous three months of 2008.