Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Conclusion 42
4th Report – The Home Office's management of asylum accommodation
Published 27 Oct 2025
Addressed to Home Office
Home Affairs Committee Asylum accommodation All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The 2026 break clause and the end of the contracts in 2029 represent an opportunity to draw a line under the current failed, chaotic and expensive system and move to a model that is more effective and offers value for money. While the Home Office is considering options, it has not yet shared a clear strategy for the delivery of a sustainable accommodation system. Moreover, there has been little clarity from ministers even regarding the basis on which they will make a decision on using the break clause. There is a serious risk that if the Home Office does not expedite the development of a long-term strategy for the future delivery of asylum accommodation, when it is time to replace the current contracts the department will find itself in a similar position to that of 2019, with limited choices as to how it secures accommodation. (Conclusion, Paragraph 186) 106
From: Home Affairs Committee, 4th Report – The Home Office's management of asylum accommodation (HC 580), 27 October 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 January 2026 (deadline 27 December 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government sets its response within its 'Restoring Order and Control' programme, committing to exit asylum hotels 'as soon as possible', while setting out some actions already taken and giving reasons where it does not agree with a recommendation.
- On hotels, the government says it will close them "as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament", noting use has fallen from over 400 at its peak to 197 as of 5 January 2026. It does not comment on the timing of individual closures.
- On contract management, it says it has strengthened capability and commissioned an independent review led by Mark Beaton, and reports recovering £74 million in profit share and service credits in the current financial year.
- It says the Home Office "will seek to introduce" a more rigorous profit-share methodology in future contracts, and that revised KPI amendments "will be finalised by February 2026".
- It does not agree to account for Contingency Accommodation directly in the National Allocation Plans, saying this would limit its ability to increase Dispersal Accommodation in areas that already host Contingency Accommodation.