Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when asylum seekers to be housed at Wates House, Fareham arrived in the UK; and by what method.

This Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain. We took immediate action to resolve that chaos by restarting asylum processing, establishing the new Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs, cracking down on illegal working across the country, and increasing the return and removal of people with no right to be here.

Since the General Election, there has been a net increase of six hotels in use across the UK; however, ten are scheduled for closure by the end of March 2025. It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs. In the interim, we are also continuing to increase our operational activity against smuggling gangs and illegal working, and we have increased returns to their highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed in the first six months this government was in charge.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

The safety and wellbeing of the local communities in which asylum accommodation is located is of paramount importance. When an individual claims asylum, the Home Office will conduct mandatory identity, criminality and security checks. Biographic and biometric data are checked against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases including domestic and international data. The Home Office works in collaboration with local authorities and key stakeholders to ensure that accommodation sites are successfully managed and the impact upon the local community is minimised.

For the safety and security of those we accommodate and our staff, the Home Office does not comment publicly on sites which may or may not be utilised to accommodate asylum seekers. Should a decision be made to use a site then the local MP will be notified in writing.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).