Home Secretary delivers on plan to significantly reduce the use
of asylum hotels
- 100 asylum hotels returned to communities by next week, up
from 60 at the end of January
- Reduction in hotel use just one part of the government’s
relentless action to reduce the strain illegal migration
continues to place on local communities
One hundred asylum hotels will be closed by the end of March as
part of the government’s plan to stop the boats and cut the use
of hotels in the asylum system.
The Home Office is expected to close the 100th hotel
next Friday (29th March) having moved people into
other accommodation such as large sites and the private rented
sector.
This means there are 20,000 fewer asylum seekers in hotels today
than six months ago, down from over 56,000 at the end of
September 2023, a reduction of 36%.
Hotel accommodation, which currently costs £8.2 million a day,
has always been intended as a temporary solution to ensure the
Home Office meets the statutory obligation to accommodate asylum
seekers who would otherwise be destitute during a period of
unprecedented numbers of small boat arrivals.
This delivers on the government’s plan to reduce our reliance on
hotels to house asylum seekers. The first 60 hotels were closed
in January.
The Home Office has also made significant progress in maximising
the number of bed spaces in the existing asylum estate and
clearing the legacy backlog of applications, with around 100,000
cases processed, including over 74,000 substantive decisions.
Home Secretary said:
“Five months ago, we promised to reduce the use of hotels, return
them to their local communities and resume their ordinary use.
Today is proof that our plan to stop the boats, maximise
efficiencies across the asylum accommodation estate and move
asylum seekers to more sustainable accommodation is working.”
The Home Office continues to negotiate with a range of
accommodation providers to find the cheapest accommodation to
ensure the greatest value for money and reduce reliance on
hotels. Such accommodation relieves pressure on communities and
manages asylum seekers in a more appropriate way, bringing the UK
in line with the approach taken by other countries in
Europe.
Large sites, such as former military sites and barges, reduce
demand on an already pressured private rental market and their
larger capacity allows the Home Office to be agile in responding
to fluctuations in demand.
The reduction in hotel use is just one part of the government’s
relentless action to reduce the strain illegal migration
continues to place on British taxpayers. Ultimately the best way
to save money is by deterring people from coming to the UK
illegally in the first place, and our partnership with Rwanda
intends to do just that.
Government action to crack down on criminals, deter migrants from
making dangerous crossings and, alongside our French
counterparts, intercept vessels, saw a reduction in small boat
crossings by 36% last year. The government also continues to run
campaigns to deter would-be migrants from beginning perilous
journeys.
