Councillors clash over Powys interest in asylum housing scheme

A war of words has broken out after Powys County Council said it was interested in a new UK Government-funded scheme to buy or refurbish houses for asylum seekers and to end the costly reliance on hotels.

The Home Office Asylum Dispersal Pilot wants county councils to volunteer to receive significant UK Government grants to buy or refurbish properties so that asylum seekers can move from hotels into wider community housing.

County councils that have shown an interest, like Powys, hope that it will bring an external cash injection to boost their council-owned housing stock which will, in turn, benefit residents in the long-term.

It is thought that just five councils across the UK have raised their hands so far and critics say that it will have a long-term social impact on communities and that priority should be given to local people on the housing list.

This is the official line from Powys County Council:

“In June 2025, the council (Powys), along with two other rural Welsh authorities put forward a non-binding expression of interest (EOI) in a Home Office proposed pilot scheme. There has been no progress or decisions made by the Home Office to date in respect of this.”

But the issue has been stoked up by Conservative county councillors who accused Powys of “abandoning their residents” who have been “left in the dark” after six months of no update.

That has drawn a fierce response from Labour’s Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Matthew Dorrance, who said the Tories were “desperately trying to deflect from their ranks swapping Tory rosettes for Reform ones”.

Here’s what the two sides have said:

Powys Conservatives group leader Cllr Aled Davies:

“With Powys County Council having thousands of its own residents on its housing waiting list and an increasing level of homelessness, this is not the time to get involved in such schemes.

“This does not provide much needed housing for our residents now, and I’m not sure it will do so in 10 years’ time. In addition, I am concerned that it will only increase demand for our already severely stretched public services.

“Deterrents not incentives are required to stop illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel.

“I urge the cabinet to withdraw their expression of interest in the Home Office’s asylum dispersal pilot and to focus its energies on our residents first and foremost – to provide them with the local infrastructure and services they need and pay for.

“We must ask our residents how they feel about this through transparent consultation not fait accompli announcements – this approach is totally wrong.”

Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Matthew Dorrance (Labour):

“The Powys Tories ask: “Has the Liberal Democrat and Labour cabinet on Powys County Council abandoned our residents? The answer is a resounding no.

“While they are desperately trying to deflect from their ranks swapping Tory rosettes for Reform ones, we are laser focussed on delivering for people in Powys.

“Since we have been in office we have been busy getting new council homes built, new school building plans developed, reducing homelessness, transforming social care to deliver better outcomes for people, driving up recycling, working towards net zero and producing an ambitious plan for growth that will tackle poverty and deliver prosperity.

“We are building a stronger, fairer, greener future for Powys. The Tories are clinging to a crumbling party desperate for a cheap headline.”

The UK Government has given no indication of how much money may be available, nor a timeline for when the pilot scheme could start.