Hertfordshire council to pursue Council of Sanctuary status

County councillors agreed to “take steps towards recognition as a Council of Sanctuary” at a meeting of the cabinet, on Wednesday (October 14).

The accreditation would not change immigration policy or lead to an increase in the provision of housing, benefits or other services available to asylum seekers or refugees in the county.

But supporters have said it would demonstrate a commitment to human rights and a recognition of the positive contributions refugees and asylum seekers can make.

It is said to be a way for councils to learn from each other and to share good practice.

Mr Cocking (Broxbourne, Conservative) had already slammed the move as a “grandstanding gesture” even before the cabinet’s vote.

Now he says he has written to county council leader Cllr Steve Jarvis (Liberal Democrat, Royston West and Rural) to register his opposition to the decision.

Cllr Steve Jarvis (Image: Hertfordshire County Council)

“I am shocked, but not surprised, that Hertfordshire County Council has agreed to pursue Council of Sanctuary status,” said Mr Cocking, in a statement issued to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“The Liberal Democrat leadership has shown that they are completely out of touch with the issues that matter to people in Hertfordshire.

“They should focus on fixing roads and improving the SEND system, not promoting resources from radical organisations that oppose controls on illegal immigration.

“I have written to the leader of the council to register my opposition to this decision, and continue to make the case that illegal asylum seekers should be deported from our country at the first opportunity.”

Maggie Filipova-Rivers is the local authority programme manager for City of Sanctuary UK.

In response to Mr Cocking’s concerns she has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that City of Sanctuary UK is a humanitarian, rather than radical, organisation.

She says that immigration issues are a matter for the Home Office and the government, rather than themselves.

She stresses that the focus of the City of Sanctuary organisation is on integration and inclusion, rather than immigration.

“We want everybody – whether part of an established community or a new arrival – to feel welcome and be able to access services,” she said.

“Every person, by virtue of being a human being, has the right to feel safe, to be supported, to integrate. And that’s what our scheme is about.

“We don’t want this to be politicised. For us it is purely humanitarian.

“This isn’t about immigration. Our campaign has no relation to those issues; they are for the Home Office or the Government to decide.

“Lots of politicians – across the spectrum – believe integration needs to happen. This is a scheme that promotes just that – that’s all it’s about.

“Being part of the network enables local authorities to learn from one another.”

In the run-up to Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, more than 3,800 Hertfordshire residents had backed a petition calling for any decision on Sanctuary status to be put to a referendum.

Executive member for public health and community safety Cllr Ajanta Hilton (Liberal Democrat, St Stephen’s) acknowledged there had been “public discontent”.

But she suggested to the cabinet that almost all the opposition in the run-up to the meeting had been based on misinformation.

Following the meeting, the council has published a Council of Sanctuary: Questions answered section on the website, www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: “We know residents want to understand more about this process, so we’ve been sharing the facts and answering their questions.”