Recommendation 14

The accommodation contracts allow providers to use hotels as contingency accommodation to meet excess demand. Throughout 2017 and 2018, fewer than 100 people had stayed in hotels each night. But since October 2019, this number has increased to more than 1,000 each night.34 At the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, ministers decided to continue support for asylum seekers after their asylum claim had been resolved to prevent them from becoming homeless. The Department explained that as a result, since March 2020 many more people had entered the asylum support system than had left and providers had placed the additional people in hotels. It further explained that the need to have social distancing within asylum accommodation also meant that there was space for fewer people within its normal accommodation. The Department told us that there were approximately 9,500 asylum seekers located in 91 hotels, the majority of whom were still having their claims considered.35 The Department said it was keen to end the use of hotels as soon as possible but did not have a target date for doing so.36