Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Novotel in Ipswich being taken over by her Department on (a) tourism in Ipswich and (b) the local economy.

For the safety of asylum seekers and staff in the hotels the Home Office does not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised.

The Home Office recognises the strain that local authorities, are facing at this time and the challenges that hotel accommodation brings. We are committed to work with local authorities through our multi-agency meetings to ensure sites are successfully managed and the impact on the local communities is minimised.

The Home Office is committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer. This is why we are delivering a range of alternative accommodation sites, maximising hotel space, operationalising the Illegal Migration Act and continuing our hard work to clear the asylum backlog by the end of 2023.