REDBRIDGE Council has lost track of the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees living in the borough.

Home Office legislation introduced in 2000 means that immigrants seeking asylum are no longer registered by local authorities but are co-ordinated by the recently formed National Asylum Support Service.

Following the Government's Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the service was set up to distribute asylum seekers throughout Britain and allow them to collect state benefits from local post offices instead of council premises.

But Redbridge councillors have expressed concern over the clandestine arrangements, claiming that without knowing the number of asylum seekers in the borough, the council will not be able to budget for the extra strain on services.

At the last full council meeting, a motion was agreed calling on the Government to give more support to local authorities in carrying out duties to asylum seekers and refugees.

Commenting on the situation, Cllr Morris Hickey said: "The whole machinery of the National Asylum Support Service makes it difficult for local authorities to obtain the information needed.

"If we don't know the exact numbers of asylum seekers in our boroughs, we are not going to know whether the grant from central government will be adequate to cover the additional use of services.

"We are looking at pushing for more information about numbers of asylum seekers in the borough but the Home Office is doing nothing to address the problem - it just stands there like King Canute with the oncoming tide."

A Redbridge Council spokesman confirmed that the Asylum Seekers Service in Redbridge was currently supporting 1,272 refugees who made their application for asylum prior to July 2000.

However, he said that by January 2002 the service was supporting 1,897, but he could not give the whole picture owing to the influx of immigrants from either neighbouring councils or the National Asylum Support Service.

He said: "We do not have an overall figure for asylum seekers in Redbridge as some authorities house clients in neighbouring boroughs but they retain responsibility for case management and support. Redbridge may also from time to time house clients in neighbouring boroughs and the National Asylum Support Service may also place clients in Redbridge."

A couple on benefits receives £66 per week, while a lone parent gets £42, a single adult is paid £35 and children receive £26. Rent payments are made by the authority but these are paid direct to landlords.

January 28, 2003 17:30