Progress on ending the use of hotels for asylum accommodation will be announced "within weeks", Housing Secretary Steve Reed has said. The Government is examining "modular" forms of building to ensure sites could go up quickly, alongside using large sites such as military bases to end hotel use "entirely".
Reed told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that modular building "can go up much faster than would normally be the case" and planning processes could be accelerated. "I'm expecting announcements to come on that within weeks, so we just have to wait and see," he said.
A committee of MPs published a report on Monday claiming billions of pounds had been "squandered" on asylum accommodation through Home Office mismanagement. The Home Affairs Committee warned ministers must set out a clear strategy to reduce asylum hotel use and end the "current failed, chaotic and expensive" system that has wasted taxpayers' money.
Rising costs and ambitious timeline
The Government has promised to end housing asylum seekers in hotels by 2029 amid mounting pressure over rising costs and local community backlash. Expected costs of Home Office accommodation contracts for 2019-2029 have tripled from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion following a "dramatic increase" in demand after the pandemic and rising small boat arrivals.
The Home Affairs Committee stated: "The Home Office has undoubtedly been operating in an extremely challenging environment but its chaotic response has demonstrated that it has not been up to the challenge." The report highlighted that 2026 break clauses and contract endings in 2029 represent opportunities to move away from the current system.
Reed told Sky News the contracts were inherited from the previous government and hotel use would be eliminated "within the lifetime" of the Labour Government. He said: "We have inherited them, but we've put in place already additional case workers to deal with the number of asylum seekers. We can get them through more quickly - the number of hotels in use is now half what it was at the peak."
Deportation case highlights enforcement
A migrant who re-entered Britain after being sent back to France as part of the Government's "one in, one out" deal will be deported this week. The man was detained after entering the UK a second time on 18th October, a month after he was returned to France, and has claimed to be a victim of modern slavery.
Reed said the arrest shows "the system is working" and told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "The individual was removed from the country, paid a people smuggler to get him back in again, was apprehended, and now will be deported. That's what will keep happening to people who try to get back in."
When asked whether this was a "drop in the ocean", Reed replied: "Of course, it's a pilot. The intention is you learn from the pilot, and then you scale it up." He outlined the Government's approach: "end the use of hotels (to house asylum seekers), stop people coming over, process applications faster, and remove those with no right to be here quicker."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
