Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on moving asylum seekers from unsuitable temporary hotel accommodation; and if she will make a statement.

The Home Office aims to end the use of hotels and move asylum seekers to less expensive and more suitable accommodation.

To support this, we are bringing into use large disused military’s sites and vessels, which will provide adequate, safe, and secure, non-detained accommodation for asylum seekers.

Additionally, the funding for dispersal accommodation has changed; for existing dispersed accommodation and beds in hotels, the government will provide local authorities with a one off retrospective £750 payment for each asylum seeker in Home Office accommodation on the 1 of April 2023; up from £250 last year. Furthermore, a new pilot will be introduced to offer local authorities an additional one off payment of up to £3,000 for new dispersal beds which are brought on and occupied quickly.

The Home Office are also making more efficient use of existing hotels. By asking people to share rooms, where it’s appropriate to do so, we’ve found an additional 11,500 places which will save taxpayers an extra £250 million a year.