N TAYLOR (Evening News, Monday, April 26) is asking the wrong people. The county council, not the city council, is responsible for supporting asylum seekers.

In the whole of Worcestershire, they house 12 families and 18 individuals at the moment.

They have no right to council housing - the council uses private landlords and letting agencies.

Refugees (ie. successful asylum seekers) are given indefinite "leave to remain" and therefore have full citizens' rights.

Like all citizens, refugees and their families find employment and undertake further education and training to help them contribute to society.

Asylum seekers and refugees should not be confused with economic migrants ie. those with work permits, or illegal immigrants ie. those without permission to enter the UK.

Economic migrants have rights to health and education - but not to housing. Parts of the local economy are reliant on economic migrants, particularly in areas such as packaging, and fruit picking. Does Mr Taylor want these industries to collapse?

They are local wealth generators. Obviously, illegal immigrants have no right to our support.

I, too, regret that there is so much misunderstanding around this complex issue.

Attacking asylum seekers who often become really valuable citizens once refugees as though they were illegal immigrants is no help.

Nor does it help to confuse economic migrants - who will be needed more and more by this country - with illegal immigrants.

DAN WICKSTEED,

Worcestershire county councillor.