Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Home Office and its subcontractor are paying above market rates to hire Houses in Multiple Occupation for asylum accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.
The procurement process is guided by principles of sustainability and measured growth, ensuring that accommodation is not only available but also suitable for long-term use and integrated within local communities.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written evidence submitted by the Home Office to the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry on the Home Office's management of asylum accommodation, AAC0141, HC 580, which local authorities are participating in pilots relating to the Accommodation Strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to ending the use of asylum hotels. To support that goal, we are investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This will help make available basic alternative accommodation so that it can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. Our ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets.
This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels.
MHCLG and the Home Office are working closely with councils and devolved partners to co-design this approach. Funding allocations to local authorities are yet to be finalised and will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local authorities are participating in asylum seeking housing pilots; and how much funding has been allocated to those pilots.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to ending the use of asylum hotels. To support that goal, we are investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This will help make available basic alternative accommodation so that it can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. Our ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets.
This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels.
MHCLG and the Home Office are working closely with councils and devolved partners to co-design this approach. Funding allocations to local authorities are yet to be finalised and will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact on local government finances relating to their duties to support destitute asylum seekers once the Government revoke their own duty to support.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many hotels were housing asylum seekers in (1) July 2023, (2) July 2024, and (3) either July 2025 or the most recent month for which data is available.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises that hotels are not a sustainable solution for accommodating asylum seekers and remains committed to ending their use, already reducing the number in operation. We do not provide a running commentary on hotel numbers, our objective is to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, reducing costs to the taxpayer and restoring control to local communities.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of irregular migrants currently residing in Great Yarmouth and the resource implications for local authorities.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are reviewed regularly with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.
Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent the concentration of high-need migrant cohorts in deprived coastal communities such as Great Yarmouth.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are reviewed regularly with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.
Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on local authorities of rising temporary accommodation costs; and what plans they have to respond to the Office for Budget Responsibility finding that long-term demand for asylum accommodation is expected to cost £15.3 billion over the next decade.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office are working with local authorities to manage the impact of asylum accommodation upon communities whilst the department reduces the number of asylum-seekers awaiting a decision.
The financial figure referenced by the Office for Budget Responsibility is taken from an NAO report from May 2025, and it covers the 10 year period 2019-2029 not the next 10 years; it includes peak levels of spending in previous years which is coming down – asylum support costs reduced by £700m between 23/24 and 24/25.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they considered any other sites managed by the Ministry of Defence before shortlisting Cameron Barracks and Crowborough army training camp for asylum accommodation; and if so, which sites they considered.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has committed to close expensive asylum hotels and to achieve this, we will look at a range of cheaper, more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities.
The MOD is stepping up to contribute to this whole of Government effort and is considering several sites. We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery and more detail will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of ending the use of asylum hotels on the use of dispersed accommodation in areas like Oldham; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of routinely publishing the number of properties procured for dispersed accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are refreshed every six months with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.
Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release.
Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).