Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 41
41
Acknowledged
Home Office lacks clear strategy for asylum accommodation, relying on damaging short-term responses
Recommendation
The Home Office has not demonstrated that it has had a strategy for the delivery of asylum accommodation. The department’s approach has instead been a series of hasty, short-term responses, damaging relationships with partners and confidence in the ability of government to deliver, as well as wasting taxpayers’ money. In the face of current pressures for swift action on asylum accommodation, the Home Office must learn the lessons from its previous mistakes and avoid cutting corners in a rush to deliver short-term solutions without a clear strategy. (Conclusion, Paragraph 177) The Home Office’s future strategy
Government Response Summary
The government reiterates its commitment to exiting all asylum hotels as soon as possible, stating it's a complex programme requiring a balanced and evidence-based approach, and is reviewing its long-term accommodation strategy.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
As outlined in the Asylum Policy Statement, exiting all asylum hotels as soon as possible is one of the Department’s top priorities, as it will contribute to removing the incentives which draw people to the UK illegally. Significant progress has already been made, reducing hotel usage from over 400 at their peak in the summer of 2023 to 197 in use as of 5th January 2026. For safety, security, and operational reasons, the department does not comment on individual hotels or the timing of closures. We will take a balanced and evidence-based approach towards making decisions about the locations that we will use and how we will exit hotels. We will continue to engage closely with local authorities as plans develop. We do not want to be in a situation where, without an alternative ready, we start exiting hotels before it is time to do so or publish timeframes that are unrealistic and do not account for fluctuations in demand. The Home Office is committed to deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment to end the use of hotels as asylum accommodation as soon as possible, and before the end of this Parliament. This is a complex programme of work that requires concerted cross-government effort and must be managed in an orderly and controlled manner. We will update the Committee of the progress in due course. We are reviewing our long-term accommodation strategy in light of the publication of the government’s recent Restoring Order and Control statement. The Home Office is working in collaboration with other government departments to deliver a range of accommodation sites, including military sites, that contribute to a more flexible estate. This will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate.