Assessment within six months for 15,000 asylum families

Each of the 15,000 families given exceptional leave to remain in the UK last Friday by the Home Office will have their housing needs assessed within six months.

The Home Office met representatives from the Local Government Association and the Association of London Government on Wednesday to discuss the implications of home secretary David Blunkett's surprise move to clear the backlog of asylum claims.

Up to 50,000 people could be granted leave to remain as a result.

However, following the announcement, the Home Office revealed its plans for new legislation to make the UK's asylum laws even tougher (see "Blunkett's proposals", below).

One ALG member present at the meeting said the government had given assurances it would work with councils – the majority of which are London boroughs – to manage any costs arising from rehousing families.

John Ransford, head of education and social services at the LGA, said: "We've been pushing the government to make a decision about the status of these people for some time. They will now have the same right to housing and benefits as anyone. There will be implications, and at this stage we are talking to government about how they can be handled."

The 15,000 families all arrived in the UK before October 2000, prior to the introduction of the National Asylum Support Service and the implementation of the dispersal system.

Roughly three-quarters of the families remain in London, says the Home Office, with the majority in local authority homes.

The councils were reimbursed through government grants.

The councils will now be charged with deciding whether the housing the families have been allocated suits their current needs. All of the families had children before the October 2000 cut-off point and many have become settled into areas while awaiting the outcome of their asylum claims.