Asylum centres should be better spread across the Netherlands, particularly in the west, according to the COA supervisory body.

Milo Schoenmaker, chairman of the COA board, told the NOS Radio 1 Journaal news programme that the 70 centres should be more evenly distributed and that asylum seekers should be housed nearby where they will be based if their application is accepted.

‘Municipalities will then be in touch with people who are granted asylum sooner, they can integrate and find work quicker, and will be less dependent on benefits,’ he said.

There are currently 24,000 asylum seekers in centres, and he expects demand to grow because he claimed there are delays by the IND in processing applications.

He also proposed separate centres for people applying from countries that are considered safe, such as Morocco and Algeria, from which asylum requests are highly unlikely to be granted. ‘Above all, lots of people from these groups cause nuisance for our staff, residents and neighbours, and we want an end to it,’ he said.