Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 33
33
Rejected
Long-term contingency hotel use remains unfairly excluded from asylum distribution planning
Recommendation
The use of hotels for asylum accommodation was intended to be a short- term, contingency measure and consequently people in Contingency Accommodation do not “count” towards the Home Office’s plans for the distribution of asylum seekers across the country. In practice, there are Contingency hotels that have been open in some areas for years and may not close for some time, including hotels that were opened without even informing the local authority. Given the long-term use of many hotels, and the high proportion of asylum seekers currently accommodated in these hotels, the failure to join up the procurement of Dispersal and Contingency Accommodation is unfair on local authorities and unacceptable. The factors considered when setting targets for Dispersal Accommodation—such as homelessness pressures and arrivals on humanitarian schemes—should also be considered when deciding to open, or close, Contingency hotels. (Conclusion, Paragraph 140) 103
Government Response Summary
The government agrees it needs to account for contingency accommodation in overall planning, but explicitly rejects the recommendation to directly include contingency accommodation in National Allocation Plans for Dispersal Accommodation, citing concerns it would limit procurement of needed dispersal sites.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
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.