Reform-led Lancashire county council to quit refugee resettlement scheme

The Reform-led Lancashire-county-council" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="123066" data-entity-type="organization">Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said.Councillor Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so.It would mean that Lancashire would no longer participate in the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP).The authority coordinates these schemes on behalf of 14 unitary and district councils in Lancashire that have responsibilities for housing.Roberts, the cabinet member for rural affairs, environment and communities, said money spent on resettling refugees would instead be diverted to help support vulnerable residents and veterans in Lancashire.While the schemes are funded by central government, Reform UK has said they affect “council resources” and put “significant pressure on the local housing market”.Roberts said: “This proposal is about fairness. Reform UK was elected last May to make sure that the people who live, work and contribute to Lancashire are put at the front of the queue and are not disadvantaged.“We are calling on the Labour government to stop placing refugees in Lancashire and instead redirect public funds to better support our vulnerable residents and veterans. These people have been deprioritised by successive Labour and Conservative governments for far too long.”However, opposition councillors have dismissed Reform’s plans as “a political stunt”.“These are central government schemes, which Lancashire-county-council" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="123066" data-entity-type="organization">Lancashire county council is paid to administer. If they decide that they no longer want to be paid for that work, the government will find other [councils] that do – it won’t stop the schemes,” Azhar Ali, a councillor and leader of opposition group Lancashire" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="123071" data-entity-type="organization">Progressive Lancashire, told the Lancashire Telegraph.The Conservative group leader, Aidy Riggott, said: “I await the cabinet paper with interest and do hope that this isn’t another bungled, ill-thought-through announcement from Reform just days before local elections in Lancashire.”The Green Party group leader, Gina Dowding, added: “This is Reform UK trying to pull a political stunt, for publicity, the week of local elections – but which will actually stop government funding coming into Lancashire to support refugees who are already here.”According to government statistics, 190,000 people were granted leave to come to or remain in the UK through safe and legal humanitarian routes in 2025, an increase on the previous year, which was largely down to extensions granted to people on existing Ukraine schemes.A council spokesperson said: “We are aware of a statement issued by the Reform party regarding the government’s refugee resettlement scheme in Lancashire. Any changes to policy would require a decision by the cabinet.”