The cost of housing migrants in hotels has risen to £8m a day, according to new figures from the Home Office. The use of hotels has increased over the last few years as the number of people entering the UK illegally or claiming asylum has hit record levels.
The Home Office's Annual Accounts, published on Tuesday, promised to 'take action to address the unacceptable costs of housing migrants in hotels which is costing the taxpayer around £8m a day'. A government source said the new figures showed 'why we've got to get migrants out of hotels and stop the boats'. In March, around 400 hotels were being used, costing nearly £7m a day.
Yvette Cooper, Labour's shadow home secretary, accused the Conservatives of 'busting the Home Office budget, breaking the asylum system, and the British people are paying the price'. She added that the cost of hotel accommodation had gone up by a third since Rishi Sunak promised to end hotel use.
The government also announced it had ended the use of hotel accommodation to house thousands of Afghan families given refuge in the UK. Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer confirmed the government had met its deadline to end the use of these bridging hotels for Afghan refugees by the end of August. He said more than 85% of the 8,000 Afghans who were living in hotels at the end of March had now been moved into homes or pre-matched into settled accommodation.
The government has a legal obligation to provide asylum seekers with basic accommodation while their claims are processed. The growth in hotel use is linked to the increase in asylum claims and the backlog of unprocessed claims. The government is awaiting a Supreme Court judgment on its Rwanda scheme, which it hopes will deter illegal migration.
