A TOP-level meeting is set to take place aimed at allocating asylum seekers around the UK in a "fairer way".

Home Office figures out this week showed where people are living while their asylum applications are processed and 381 were living in Bury between April 1 and June 30 this year.

That compares with 494 in the entire South West of England — an area with a population of 8.7 million people, compared with Bury's 187,000.

Bury Council leader Cllr Mike Connolly, who is Greater Manchester's lead member on asylum, is set to meet Immigration Minister James Brokenshire in London on November 3 to lobby for a "fairer and more equitable sharing" of asylum seekers across the country.

Mr Connolly said: "Here in Bury, I think the number of asylum seekers is manageable and does not have a concerning impact on particular services that we provide.

"However, we have to look to the future and unless we have a fair and equitable system of distribution, that might change.

"Certainly in some parts of Greater Manchester, such as Bolton, Oldham and Wigan, there may already be such strains on services and, more widely, Greater Manchester is taking more asylum seekers than other parts of the North West."

Cllr Connolly said that positive conversations have taken place between leaders of Greater Manchester councils and those in Cumbria and Lancashire in recent months to ensure each area takes in their fair share of asylum seekers and now the aim was to persuade Mr Brokenshire to do the same for the nation.

"It is something we want to discuss and we hope the Minister listens to our arguments in favour of a fair allocation process for the entire country," added Cllr Connolly.

Asylum seekers receive £37 per week and a room to live in but are not allowed to work or claim benefits.

If a person is granted asylum, they become a refugee and are able to work and claim benefits for an initial period of five years before their case is reviewed.

Bury has a history of welcoming those fleeing persecution, as part of the UN-backed Gateway Protection Programme, refugees have been frequently located in Bury over the past 10 years.

The issue has become widely debated recently, with Prime Minister David Cameron that it will accept 20,000 refugees from war-torn Syria over the next five years and they will receive automatic humanitarian protection.

At a town-hall Full Council meeting last month, councillors passed an emergency motion urging the Government to take in more Syrian refugees.