Recommendation 26

In May 2025, the NAO reported that the Home Office was still reviewing its 10-year accommodation strategy, which it had committed to develop by spring 2024, and that no updated strategy had yet been published.67 When we asked about the Home Office’s longer-term plans, it said the current approach envisages increasing the use of large and medium-sized sites over the next five years, alongside wider efforts to reduce the number of people supported in hotels. It intends to “scale up” the use of these sites as part a more “sustainable solution for housing asylum seekers” and said that “creating purpose-driven sites can support the whole system, including smoother casework, move on and removals”. However, we questioned the cost-effectiveness of large sites. As the NAO has reported, the Home Office’s own analysis suggests that large sites will cost more than hotels, as seen in previously costly attempts such as Wethersfield.68 The Home Office acknowledged that such sites are likely to “cost as much as or more per person per night than hotels,” but said they offer benefits including dedicated services, improved oversight and reduced pressures on local communities.69