Bruce Sinclair, Local Democracy Reporter
Questions about funding for asylum seekers, submitted by a currently suspended councillor were heard at a Welsh County Hall this month.
Pembrokeshire council traditionally has a section for questions submitted by members of the public early during the agenda of its full council meetings.
A question submitted by member of the public Alan Dennison to the October meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council asked questions “relating to asylum seeker taxpayer funding”.
Mr Dennison would ordinarily be able to submit his questions as a member of the authority, as a county councillor, which would allow him to ask supplementary questions if he wished.
However, Mr Dennison is currently suspended as a county councillor up to the end of November, due to being found to have breached the code of conduct for members over a planning matter on behalf of a friend he had holidayed in Mexico with.
In his submitted question Mr Dennison asked: “Cabinet reports indicate that in the financial year 2023-24, grants funded by taxpayers for asylum seekers amounted to £993,000, which rose by over 40 per cent to £1.4 million in 2024-2025.
“Similarly, the Afghan refugee support grant saw a dramatic increase from £47,000 in 2023-24 to £285,000 the following year, marking a remarkable rise of 506 per cent.
“In contrast, funding for Ukrainian support decreased by 21 per cent, from £377,000 to £297,000 during the same period.
“It is requested that the Leader [Cllr Tessa Hodgson] provide information regarding the funding allocated for the 2025-2026 fiscal year for these three groups, as well as the number of individuals currently benefitting from these grants in each of the three grant allocations over the same timeframes.”
Answering the submitted finance-based question, Cabinet member for finance Cllr Jon Harvey thanked “Mr Dennison” for his question, adding funding had come from the Home Office and other government departments.
He said that the amount for unaccompanied child asylum seekers was £1,507,419; the figure for the Afghan resettlement programme £184,072, and the Homes for Ukraine scheme £221,197.
Cllr Harvey said the maximum number of individuals benefiting fluctuated, with 63 unaccompanied children as of this October; the Afghan resettlement scheme having a high of 54, now 19 as of October 2026; the Homes for Ukraine scheme having a high of 193, now down to 171.
As a member of the public, Mr Dennison had no right to any supplementary questions, a right extended to councillor-submitted questions.
The post Suspended councillor submits funding for asylum seekers question as ‘member of the public’ appeared first on Nation.Cymru.