Reform UK's Council of Sanctuary rethink bid fails

2 hours ago

Martin HeathHertfordshire political reporter

The Council of Sanctuary status is an indication that a local authority welcomes asylum seekers

Getty Images People in coats and fleeces, including one woman with a pink headscarf, pull suitcases along a path through a grassed area with two-storey grey houses in the background. — The Council of Sanctuary status is an indication that a local authority welcomes asylum seekers

An attempt to force a rethink on a local authority's decision to seek Council of Sanctuary status has failed.

Hertfordshire County Council's scrutiny committee rejected a move by Reform UK councillors on Tuesday to have the decision reconsidered.

Reform politicians told the meeting the public had not been consulted and misleading information had been given about the cost of the status.

But Liberal Democrat members argued that the correct procedure had been followed and the cost would be minimal.

Council of Sanctuary status is awarded by the City of Sanctuary charity, which began in Sheffield in 2005.

Five years after it was founded, the organisation stopped awarding the status to geographical areas and created a Local Authorities of Sanctuary scheme.

It takes about 12 months to go through the process and obtain the accreditation, which costs £2,700.

The Lib Dem-led council decided last month to apply for the status, but more than 16,000 people have signed a petition against the move.

Reform UK councillor Saul Jacob said pursuing the status was ignoring the feelings of the people

Hertfordshire County Council A man with short dark hair wearing a dark jacket with a poppy attached, a blue shirt and a blue tie. He is sitting at a desk at a meeting talking into a microphone. — Reform UK councillor Saul Jacob said pursuing the status was ignoring the feelings of the people

Eleven Reform councillors and an unaligned Conservative joined forces to call in the decision for further consideration by the council's scrutiny committee.

During the meeting, Joanna Belsey, who started the petition, said: "The decision-making process was achieved through procedural manoeuvre and aimed to shut out the public."

Saul Jacob, one of the Reform councillors who signed the call-in request, said the authority had put forward "an unsubstantiated timeline regarding local asylum numbers, an uncosted internal staff burden during an overspend [and was] essentially ignoring the will of petitioners".

Ajanta Hilton said money spent on asylum seekers would be more effective if the authority was a Council of Sanctuary

Martin Heath/BBC A woman with long dark hair looking at the camera while wearing a purple dress. She is in front of a wooden bench with plants on top of it, next to a window. — Ajanta Hilton said money spent on asylum seekers would be more effective if the authority was a Council of Sanctuary

But Ajanta Hilton, the council's executive member for public safety, defended the decision to go ahead with the application.

She said: "We don't believe that the officer time will be significant because we do the work already, but it will create a framework that will be supported."

She added that the money already being spent by the council could be "spent more effectively" by joining the network of Councils of Sanctuary.

Seven councillors voted to leave the decision as it was and five voted for it to be reconsidered.

Analysis: How popular is the Council of Sanctuary scheme?

An unaligned Conservative councillor, Alexander Curtis, joined Reform UK members to oppose the application

Martin Heath/BBC A man with short light brown hair and glasses with thick frames, looking at the camera while wearing a dark jacket and a light shirt. He is standing in a street at night with shops in the background. — An unaligned Conservative councillor, Alexander Curtis, joined Reform UK members to oppose the application

The City of Sanctuary organisation says 76 councils are in its network.

There are, however, some that started down the road towards being awarded the status before halting the process, including Swindon, Weston-super-Mare and Bracknell Forest.

Bradford decided by just one vote last month to retain its Council of Sanctuary accreditation, and the Reform administration in Sunderland has signalled its intention to leave the scheme.

Reform councillors say their motive is concentrating on local issues, but they have often expressed concern about a possible increase in asylum seekers arising from the status.

The status often leaves council leaders having to put forward arguably contradictory positions.

They have to say that the cost of the status will be minimal and will not increase the number of asylum seekers in the area.

But they also have to say that the status is an important symbol which is worth paying £2,700 for when councils are strapped for cash and is worth jumping through hoops to demonstrate its welcome for asylum seekers.

With every penny counting for local authorities, and with Reform now holding the purse strings in some areas, decisions to pursue the status are coming under much closer scrutiny.

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