AN MP has called on the Government to “come clean” over the costs of housing asylum seekers in his constituency.

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham submitted a series of parliamentary questions in a bid to find out the costs of asylum seeker accommodation – which are paid for by the taxpayer.

But he was told by James Brokenshire, the Minister for Immigration and Security, that the information he wanted was not available as it was “commercially sensitive”.

At the end of last year there were 682 asylum seekers placed in housing in Stockton, an all-time high.

Neighbouring Middlesbrough already has the largest proportion of asylum seekers of any area in England per head of population – 982 in total – when its population is taken into account.

Asylum seekers are placed in temporary housing selected by local authorities while the Government decides whether to allow them to live in the UK.

Security company G4S has a contract worth an annual £144 million to deliver such services in the North-East and Yorkshire and uses a third party housing provider, Jomast.

The Northern Echo understands G4S is paid up to £9.20 per asylum seeker per night. This covers housing, furniture, water, energy and council tax costs.

On this basis it is being paid approximately £2.2 million each year in Stockton alone.

Mr Cunningham said the Government needed to come clean about what was being spent.

He said: “The lack of transparency is a disgrace with private sector companies responsible for delivering public services being able to hide behind a cloak of commercial confidentiality.

“It is essential that such spending is properly evaluated to ensure best value and that service providers are held fully to account.”

A Home Office spokesman said there had been a reduction in the total cost of asylum support of more than £200 million since 2010.

He said: “Asylum seekers are housed by commercial providers according to their individual needs and where there is available and appropriate accommodation.

“We continually monitor the performance of providers to ensure they are meeting the standards set out in [their] contract, while at the same time delivering maximum value for the taxpayer.”

A spokesman for G4S said it provided “excellent value” to the taxpayer.

*The Home Office is conducting a review of reporting arrangements for asylum seekers in the region, although a decision on which locations staff who process such individuals will be based in has yet to be made.