Only one asylum seeker in Rotherham currently holds a council discount card, the council leader has confirmed amid national headlines.

Council leader councillor Chris Read said that out of around 50,000 people eligible for the Rothercard scheme, only one current cardholder is an asylum seeker.

Separate council figures show that between April 2024 and March 2025, no new cards were issued to people under government asylum or refugee programmes.

The clarification follows reports in a national newspaper last month which claimed that a number of councils, including Rotherham, were offering discounted leisure activities to “small boat migrants” through local discount schemes.

placeholder image — The clarification follows reports in a national newspaper last month which claimed that a number of councils, including Rotherham, were offering discounted leisure activities to “small boat migrants” through local discount schemes.

The Rothercard scheme, launched in 1993, provides reduced prices on leisure activities and some council services for residents on low incomes, young people, looked-after children, and asylum seekers supported by the Home Office. Asylum seekers have been eligible since 2008, and a cross-party review in January 2023 kept the eligibility criteria unchanged.

Cllr Read criticised the way national coverage had represented the scheme, and said that the policy was consistent with approaches taken by many other councils.

Former Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford argued the policy was wrong in light of the national migration debate, describing it as an example of what he called “Labour mismanagement” of Rotherham Council. He said decisions on eligibility ultimately rest with the council’s Labour cabinet.