Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
We are very concerned that thousands of people continue to be placed in hotels rather...
Conclusion
We are very concerned that thousands of people continue to be placed in hotels rather than more appropriate accommodation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ministers decided to continue support for asylum seekers after their asylum claim had been resolved. As a result, since March 2020 many more people have entered the asylum support system than have left it. The Department has increasingly used hotels as contingency accommodation for asylum seekers. Approximately 9,500 asylum seekers are currently accommodated in 91 hotels across the UK. However, hotel use was high even before the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 1,000 people in hotels each night since October 2019. Some asylum seekers have been in hotels for far longer than 35 days, the point at which the Department expects providers to have moved people into more permanent accommodation. Hotels usually lack facilities for children and are not suitable for families to share for extended periods. While in hotels, asylum seekers cannot register with a GP or enrol their children into school, so extended stays are potentially damaging to all asylum seekers and particularly to children. On 1 October 2020, 428 school-age children had been in hotels for more than 35 days. The Department asserts that it prioritises getting families with children, and other vulnerable service users, out of hotels quickly, and is producing further instructions to providers on how to prioritise getting people out of hotels appropriately. Recommendation: The Department should, within three months, set out a clear plan for how it will quickly and safely reduce the use of hotels and ensure that asylum seekers’ accommodation meets their individual needs. 6 Asylum accommodation and support transformation programme
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: February 2021 2.2 The government is committed to reducing and ending the routine use of hotel accommodation and is taking a range of steps with providers to achieve this. One of the ways in which the use of hotels can cease is through providers procuring sufficient dispersed accommodation, which requires the cooperation of local authorities. The department is doing all it can to encourage local authorities to support the procurement of sufficient dispersed accommodation and has recommenced the procurement of accommodation. The department, with support from the Cabinet Office, is working with its providers to accelerate their procurement plans and assess further options. The department is currently assessing the rate at which the hotel population can be reduced and the expected timescale for eliminating regular hotel use from the system. 2.3 The other way in which hotel usage can be reduced is through moving people whose asylum claim has been concluded out of asylum accommodation, and then returning to the usual flow of service users into dispersed accommodation. The department is working with local authorities to move people on from asylum accommodation when their claims have been concluded.