2 days ago
Fury as bankrupt Birmingham council offering asylum seekers huge discounts on swimming, golf, trampolining & Villa games
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
BANKRUPT Birmingham Council is offering small boat asylum seekers hefty discounts on leisure activities — including swimming, golf and trampolining.
The Labour-run authority, which is locked in a bin strike now in its seventh month, is giving migrants up to 25 per cent off through its Passport To Leisure scheme.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
2
Small boat asylum seekers are being offered hefty discounts on leisure activities
Credit: Getty
2
Money is lopped off tickets to watch shows, such as Disney musical Mary Poppins at the Birmingham Hippodrome
Credit: supplied
Migrants, many of whom have crossed the Channel by boat before claiming asylum on reaching the UK, can also get a fifth off on the use of council swimming pools.
Martial arts classes are subsidised for migrants under the initiative, as are courses on trampolining, golf, gymnastics and football.
The price of a trip to a council wellbeing centre for fitness, yoga, squash and badminton sessions is also cheaper.
The council even offers £1 tickets to Aston Villa matches for migrant children, as long as they are accompanied by a full paying adult.
In a further slap in the face for taxpayers, asylum seekers get ten per cent off at most council leisure sites, meaning cheaper trips to the theatre, museum and city's botanical gardens.
Under the scheme, £3 is lopped off tickets to watch shows, such as Disney musical Mary Poppins at the Birmingham Hippodrome.
The Passport To Leisure card is available to over-60s, full-time students, carers, disabled people and recipients of certain benefits.
Birmingham — England's largest local authority district by population — already has a 'Be Active' scheme for asylum seekers which offers free swimming and gym sessions.
The council is £3.9billion in debt and declared itself effectively bankrupt in September 2023 with the issue of a Section 114 notice, limiting it to essential spending only.
It is also under fire over its handling of a bin strike which has seen mountains of rubbish pile up on the city's streets.
Migrant hotel protesters take to the streets again as demonstrations spread across the country in weekend stand-off
Unite union members are in a dispute over pay and proposed changes to some roles.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'This is a bankrupt Labour council, in the middle of a bin strike, racking up billions in debt, hiking council tax by 21 per cent, and their priority is trampolining perks for illegal immigrants.
'It is a slap in the face for hard-pressed taxpayers who are being forced to subsidise freebies for illegal immigrants who claim asylum having crossed the channel.'
