The petition of residents of the constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield,
Declares that the Copthorne Hotel in Copthorne should be returned to its former use as a major local employer, valuable Gatwick Airport accommodation and a highly valued community hub, in line with the Mid Sussex District Council motion passed in September 2025.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to facilitate the return of the Copthorne Hotel—used as asylum accommodation for the last six years—to its original and proper use at the earliest possible opportunity and before the current planning permission expires.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Ann Davies, Official Report, 8 September 2026; Vol. 790, c. 1016.]
[P003236]
Observations from the Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Anna Turley):
Exiting all hotels used for asylum accommodation as soon as possible is one of the Government’s top priorities, tackling one of the pull factors that is making the UK an attractive destination for irregular migration.
The Government promised they would return all such hotels to local communities by the end of this Parliament and are delivering on that promise. Progress has been made, with the number of hotels down from 213 in July 2024 to fewer than 160 today, meaning one in three hotels open at the election are closed now.
The Government are building an asylum system that is efficient, sustainable and flexible. A little over two years into office, the asylum backlog is down, the number of asylum seekers in hotels is falling, illegal working arrests are at record levels, small boat numbers are falling, and deportations and returns are up markedly. Since the election we have returned over 80,000 people with no right to be in UK.
Exiting all asylum hotels as soon as possible is a top priority as part of the restoring order and control programme, as it will contribute to tackling the pull factors that are making the UK a more attractive destination than other countries.
The Government are clear that hotels are not a good use of public money and act as a lightning rod for community tensions. As such the Government will close every hotel as soon as possible and by the end of this Parliament. It is recognised that the asylum system is under significant pressure and the use of hotels and current arrangements to accommodate asylum seekers is not sustainable. We will exit hotels as part of a controlled, managed and orderly programme—not just by shifting individuals from hotels to other sites but by reducing the numbers in supported accommodation overall. The number of hotels in use as asylum accommodation remains significantly below hotel usage at its peak under the previous Government in summer 2023, when more than 400 hotels were in use, and costs reached almost £9 million per day. There are currently fewer than 160 in use.
We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and the local community as we transition away from using hotels. This will see a move towards the use of large sites, including ex-military sites, for asylum accommodation.
As we advance the process of closing all asylum hotels, the Home Office will continue to prioritise sites based on ongoing assessment against a comprehensive range of factors and giving consideration to the views of local partners. These factors include operational feasibility, financial implications, community cohesion, and geographical considerations, all of which will be assessed carefully.
It is long-standing policy that for the safety, security and wellbeing of those accommodated, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office. Additionally, there are no plans to publish a list of hotels scheduled for closure. When a hotel has been identified for closure, it will be communicated to the local authority chief executive, the MP and statutory partners. However, once a hotel is empty it will be in the public domain.