Dozens of asylum hotels to close as barge use to increase

The government is spending £8 million day to accommodate around 47,500 people in hotels. Credit: PA

Dozens of hotels housing thousands of asylum seekers in the UK will stop being used by the government early next year, as ministers aim to bring down the cost of illegal immigration.

Home Office minister Robert Jenrick announced in the House of Commons on Tuesday that the number of asylum hotels will be cut by 50 by January 2024.

He told MPs: "I can inform the House that today the Home Office wrote to local authorities and MPs to inform them that we will now be exiting the first asylum hotels. Hotels in all four nations of the UK.

"The first 50 of these exits will begin in the coming days and will be complete by the end of January with more tranches to follow shortly but we will not stop there.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick confirms 50 asylum hotels will stop being used by the government

"We will continue to deliver on our strategy to stop the boats and we will be able to exit more hotels. And as we exit these hotels, we are putting in place dedicated resource to facilitate the orderly and effective management of this process and limit the impact on local communities."

The government is hoping to reduce the £8 million it is spending per day to accommodate around 47,500 people in hotels by relocating them to barges and old army bases.

Reports have suggested the hotels set to be closed will be in areas the Conservatives hope to target in the next general election, which is expected next year.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Victoria Atkins told ITV News there will be less need for asylum hotels as numbers crossing the English Channel on small boats falls.

She said there has already been some "very tangible progress" on Rishi Sunak's pledge to "stop the boats", with a 25% reduction in illegal crossings compared to this time last year.

Critics of the government's illegal immigration policies, however, attribute this fall in crossings to less-favourable weather, with huge numbers still taking the journey on milder days.

Mr Jenrick denied this is the case, claiming weather conditions this year had been more favourable than 2022.

Despite the numbers falling, there have still been more than 21,000 arrivals this year.

"None of us pretend that this has been easy," Ms Atkins told ITV News, with a plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda still not off the ground due to legal challenges.

But using hotels to house asylum seekers is "not sustainable and it's not fair on the British taxpayer", she said.

Alternative plans include barges, such as the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, where several migrants have recently been returned after the discovery of Legionella bacteria in its water supply led to an evacuation in August.

Ms Atkins added: "We absolutely understand people's concerns about this which is why the prime minister is determined to press ahead, not just with Rwanda but with international discussions and of course getting people out of hotels because of the enormous cost that presents for communities."

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