Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Deferred
Home Office significantly delayed recouping excess profits from asylum accommodation providers.
Conclusion
It is extremely disappointing that the Home Office only appears to have started the process for recouping excess profits from accommodation providers in 2024. Accommodation providers told us they had tens of millions waiting to be returned to the Home Office. This money should be supporting the delivery of public services, not sitting in the bank accounts of private businesses. (Conclusion, Paragraph 70)
Government Response Summary
The government deflects the conclusion about its failure to recoup excess profits from accommodation providers by discussing its strategy for dispersal accommodation, national allocation plans, and exiting hotels.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Home Office is committed to ensuring that decisions on the distribution of asylum seekers and the identification of contingency accommodation sites are fair, evidence-based, and transparent. Dispersal Accommodation is being managed via the National Asylum Allocation Plans and Dispersed Accommodation Property Adjudication Process. We are also reviewing and updating the indexing tool to provide more accurate picture of capacity and impact across regions. Monthly place-based approach meetings provide a forum for local authorities and partners to align on dispersal planning and support cohesive delivery, informed by community-specific insights to reduce risk and improve outcomes. The Home Office agrees it needs to account for contingency accommodation in our overall accommodation planning. The department oversees National Allocation Plans which set out a Dispersed Accommodation target scenario. If met, would eliminate the need for Contingency Accommodation across the estate. We also provide data to Migration Partnership and councils that includes all asylum accommodation in each region. We therefore do not agree the recommendation to account for Contingency Accommodation directly in these plans, as doing so would further limit our ability to increase Dispersal Accommodation in LAs with existing Contingency Accommodation. This would risk limiting our ability to procure the levels of Dispersal Accommodation required to exit Contingency Accommodation. We require our accommodation providers to take account of existing Dispersal Accommodation to ensure alignment with the asylum accommodation plans when proposing any new sites, helping to prevent disproportionate concentration and maintain equity across the estate. In parallel, we are implementing a structured hotel exit plan that prioritises a variety of factors to ensure decisions are rational and aligned with strategic objectives. This work forms part of the wider transformation programme to reduce reliance on contingency accommodation and restore a sustainable dispersal model, balancing national priorities with local sensitivities.