Minister of State for Legal Migration and the Border (): The Government is committed to implementing
effective measures to address the challenges posed by irregular
migration, ensure the integrity of our borders, and reduce the
burden on the taxpayer.
Whilst allowing the Home Office to fulfil its statutory
obligations towards destitute asylum seekers, Ministers have
worked to cut reliance on hotels by expanding and driving
efficiencies in the asylum accommodation estate. We have
maximised the utilisation of bed spaces in the existing asylum
estate, which has resulted in 72 fewer hotels being opened in
2023 than otherwise would have been required. And we are
committed to going further to end our reliance on hotels.
We have undertaken work across Government to secure alternative
sites which provide sustainable and cost-effective accommodation
to house asylum seekers, with further sites in development. In
addition, we continue with the implementation of the Regional
Allocation Plans for dispersed accommodation, which will further
relieve pressure on communities through equitable dispersal.
The Prime Minister's commitment to clearing the legacy asylum
backlog has been met, further reducing the need to use hotels. By
streamlining processes and increasing efficiency, over 74,000
initial decisions were made on asylum applications in 2023, which
is four times more than in 2022.
- We now have 20,000 fewer asylum seekers accommodated in
hotels, than in September 2023 - a reduction of 36%.
- This week we will have returned 50 hotels to their
communities for commercial use since the start of March 2024, and
since October last year will have ended the use of 150 hotels by
the beginning of May.
In conclusion, the Government's commitment to reducing hotel use
for asylum seekers reflects our broader efforts to stop the
boats, cut irregular migration, strengthen border security, and
relieve pressure on local communities.
