More than 500 refugees currently being supported in Northumberland

At a meeting of the county council, the Tory-led administration faced questions on the number of refugees currently being supported within the county. It was explained that the vast majority of those who have received support are those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Coun Holly Waddell, who represents the Bywell ward as an independent councillor, revealed she had seen leaflets quoting ‘misleading’ figures being circulated in the county.

She said: “How many refugees and asylum seekers are currently supported in Northumberland? I have seen a leaflet with misinformation about the number of refugees with a much higher number.

“Does the council think refugees are welcome in Northumberland? Is there anything that we can be doing to make them feel more welcome?”

The Conservatives’ cabinet member for housing, Coun Colin Horncastle, replied: “There are 572 people in 222 houses receiving support. Seventy per-cent are people displaced by the war in Ukraine.

“We have done an awful lot over the years. We have housed people but we haven’t just housed them, we have given them the council’s full support from all our different departments.

“We have also housed them in the right places to meet their social and religious needs. In terms of what we can do, everything is now governed by the Home Office so we get quotas from the Home Office and they use a formula.

“Are refugees welcome here? Yes, they are. The ones that have come have integrated really well and there has been no problems.”