Asylum seekers in Oxfordshire should be housed, educated and encouraged to take up jobs.

That is the view of county councillors, who are calling on Prime Minister Tony Blair to ensure refugees are given a fair crack of the whip.

Members of the council's strategy and resources committee spent more than an hour yesterday deciding how best to react to the asylum problem. They agreed to call on Parliament to:

*Identify suitable MoD or Government property

*Educate and train asylum seekers in English

*Change the employment rules to let asylum seekers take up paid or voluntary jobs *Replace vouchers with cash handouts

*Speed up the application process.

Chairman Cllr Keith Mitchell (Con) denied the council was encouraging 'soft' treatment. He said: "The present situation for handling refugees is causing great problems in this city. It is putting severe pressure on our staff.

"This advice is little more than an approach to Government. There is little we can do as a county council. We are asking the Government to handle the asylum issue in a more balanced way. The man in the street may think we are being soft but it is a balance between firmness and fairness.

"Most of them do not have any English. If we can't do crash courses in English in Oxford then where can we?" Councillors will also ask the Government why local services are not being reimbursed for the cost of supporting asylum seekers. They have asked officers to identify schemes which could provide funding.

Cllr Sushila Dhall (Green) blamed the xenophobic media for turning people against asylum seekers. She called it "an incitement to racial hatred".

Cllr Terry Joslin (Lab) said: "Our duty is to do our best while these people are here. They may ultimately contribute in a worthwhile way to this country's affairs."