Mon, 27 Oct 2025

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 Home Office squandered billions on asylum hotels, MPs say

"Flawed contracts" and "incompetent delivery" left the department unable to cope with demand for asylum accommodation, a report by MPs suggests.

* £15bn: The expected costs of asylum accommodation, which have tripled since 2019.
* £4.5bn: Original estimated cost of hotel contracts in 2019-2029.
* £1bn: Amount by which asylum costs have been slashed under the current government.
* 103,000: Number of asylum seekers currently housed by the government.
* 32,000: Number of asylum seekers accommodated in hotels.
* 210: Number of hotels used to house asylum seekers.
* £4.2m: Estimated excess profits owed by two accommodation providers that have not been recovered.
* Incompetent delivery and flawed contracts have led to a "chaotic response" from the Home Office, according to the report.
* The government has failed to recover excess profits from providers and has neglected day-to-day management of contracts.
* Housing Secretary Steve Reed says Labour is exploring options for housing asylum seekers on disused military bases.
* Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he is "determined" to close all asylum hotels by the next general election.
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