Hartlepool Has Fifth-Highest Asylum Dispersal Rate in North East, Council Papers Reveal...
Council Reveals 403 Asylum Seekers Living in Dispersed Accommodation in Hartlepool — But None are in Hotels…
25th Sep 2026
More than 400 asylum seekers are currently being accommodated across Hartlepool under the Government’s dispersal system, newly published council papers reveal — although the troubled Teesside Council has been quick to confirm that none are being housed in any hotels in the town.
A report due before Hartlepool Borough Council’s Housing, Growth and Communities Committee on the 30th of September 2026 provides one of the clearest recent pictures of asylum accommodation within the borough coming almost three years since a Hartlepool Resident was brutally murdered by an Asylum Seeker who was being housed in the borough.
According to the councils papers, Hartlepool currently has 403 asylum seekers living within the so called ‘dispersal system’.
While it’s said to be considerably fewer than neighbouring areas such as Stockton-on-Tees, where the report records 837, Hartlepool reportedly now has the fifth-highest number per head of population among the North East’s 12 local authority areas, at approximately 41 asylum seekers per 10,000 residents.
The council is also explicit on one issue which has generated considerable debate in communities elsewhere in the country: where its claimed there are currently no asylum seekers being accommodated in hotels in Hartlepool.
403 people — but no asylum hotels
Under the national asylum dispersal system, people who have claimed asylum and are unable to support themselves can initially be accommodated before subsequently being moved into accommodation in different parts of the country.
Hartlepool has a number of properties being used as dispersed accommodation, but council papers state:
“There are no asylum seekers placed in hotel accommodation in Hartlepool.”
Nationally, hotels have remained a controversial part of the asylum-support system, although their use has fallen substantially since protests over their use became more intense, with Home Office statistics showing that by the end of June 2026, 93,293 people were receiving asylum support across the UK, of whom 16,021 — around 17% — were in hotel accommodation 50% fewer than a year earlier.
Hartlepool fifth highest per head in North East
The council says nine of the region’s 12 local authority areas have more dispersed asylum seekers than Hartlepool, with Stockton cited as having more than double Hartlepool’s number, with Hartlepool reported to have the fifth-highest rate in the North East.
The report also says the wider North East continues to accommodate a disproportionately large share of asylum dispersal compared with its share of the UK population.
According to the council papers, the region accommodates around 8% of the national asylum population despite accounting for approximately 4% of the UK population.
Council has pushed for a ‘fairer distribution’
Hartlepool is one of several North East authorities which has pressed the Home Office for asylum accommodation to be spread more evenly around the country.
The council says it has advocated for a “fairer distribution of asylum dispersal across England” alongside neighbouring authorities.
The purpose of the national dispersal policy itself is to distribute people requiring asylum accommodation rather than concentrating responsibility within a small number of areas. Home Office funding guidance describes the legislative intention as ensuring that no single area is overburdened by supporting asylum seekers.
Hartlepool’s report says the Government announced a further commitment in August 2026 towards achieving a fairer distribution, which the council believes could have a positive effect locally.
Home Office previously agreed not to increase Hartlepool’s dispersal places
In August 2024, the Home Office gave Hartlepool Borough Council what the council describes as a “maintain and replace” commitment, meaning the number of dispersal places in Hartlepool was not supposed to rise above the level operating at that time; accommodation could be replaced, but the overall agreed number of places would not be increased, with Hartlepool council says the available data indicates that commitment has so far been maintained.
Councils receive Government funding
The Government provides financial support to councils hosting people within the asylum accommodation system.
For 2026/27, Home Office guidance provides an annual payment of £1,200 for each supported asylum seeker occupying eligible accommodation at the 30 March 2026 baseline, together with further payments for net increases in occupied asylum accommodation during the financial year. The funding is intended to contribute towards pressures on local services.
Hartlepool’s own report says the council receives funding for asylum seekers resident in its area to help cover support and service costs.
However, the committee papers fail to provide a total figure showing exactly how much Hartlepool Borough Council has received during the current financial year.
Police, health and education consulted over locations
Hartlepool Council says it works with the Home Office over both the location and purpose of dispersal properties, with police, health services and education partners also consulted to help assess potential effects on services and communities when accommodation is being considered.
Hartlepool BC went on to say that the arrangement allows local considerations to feed into decisions over where properties are located.
