Recommendation 30

The National Audit Office reported that the increase in asylum decisions had placed greater pressure on local authorities to support refugees in finding accommodation and increased the risk of homelessness and rough sleeping.107 The previous Public Accounts Committee also raised concerns about the Home Office paying higher rates for limited rental accommodation and therefore driving up rents. The Local Government Association reported to us that, despite additional financial support, councils were spending over £1.74 billion in 2024 to support more than 117,000 households in temporary accommodation.108 We questioned the Home Office again on 101 Q 119 102 Committee of Public Accounts, Asylum Accommodation and UK-Rwanda partnership, para 4 103 Q 45 104 Q 121 105 AA0010, Written evidence submitted by the Local Government Association, 28 November 2024 106 Qq 120, 132-133 107 C&AG’s Report, Asylum Accommodation, para 2.9 108 AA0010, para 4 22 the effectiveness of its measures, and it explained that its joint work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) aims to prevent situations where it pays higher rental rates than local authorities, contributing to increased rents.109 The Home Office said it now had a commitment “that if we ever hear that a local authority is seeking to acquire a particular piece of accommodation, we withdraw our interest.”110 We had held an evidence session on homelessness with MHCLG two weeks earlier, during which it acknowledged that coordination between the Home Office and local councils had not been adequate. MHCLG said efforts were underway to improve this, with a new locally-led plan aimed at reducing the competition for accommodation.111