Asylum hotel latest: More councils seek legal action to ban migrants from being housed in their areas after Epping site shut – UK Times

The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports:

Across the UK, the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels amounts to just five people per 10,000 in the population.

Just 1 in 3 asylum seekers are housed in hotels, with the majority in other forms of accommodation rented or arranged by the council.

In Wales, hotels accommodate fewer than 100 asylum seekers.

Hotels in London house over 12,000 asylum seekers, more than anywhere else in the country.

But this amounts to just 14 people per 10,000 due to the capital’s large population.

The Independent’s social affairs correspondent Holly Bancroft reports:

Councils in Staffordshire have announced they are exploring options in light of the Epping ruling.

Ian Cooper, Leader of Staffordshire County Council said: “We welcome this ruling and will be in contact with our district and borough council partners to explore what options this now gives us in Staffordshire. The control and protection of our country’s borders is a national issue, but the impact of central government policy is felt in communities across Staffordshire.

“I have already written to the Home Secretary on this issue, stating that the ongoing use of hotels for the purpose of asylum is unacceptable and poses a serious risk to local communities as well as the residents themselves.”

• Broxbourne Council’s leader has pledged it will “go down the same path as Epping” after Tuesday’s High Court ruling. Corina Gander, leader of the council in Hertfordshire, said a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town of Cheshunt puts “an enormous strain on local services”.
• Councils in Staffordshire have announced they are exploring options in light of the Epping ruling. Ian Cooper, leader of Staffordshire County Council, added that he has already written to the home secretary on this “unacceptable” issue.
• Leader of West Northamptonshire Council Mark Arnull said he is “looking at the options now available” after Tuesday’s High Court ruling. He described the current use of three hotels for asylum accommodation as “an unreasonable and unsustainable strain”. The Reform UK councillor added that he has raised these issues with the home office and written to the deputy prime minister.
• Hillingdon council, which has the highest number of asylum seekers housed in accommodation of any London local authority, is looking to see if they can take legal action following Epping’s victory in the courts. The council has previously raised concerns with the Home Office about the number of homeless asylum seekers being evicted from hotels in the area.

Security minister Dan Jarvis has said the government is looking at contingency options for where to house asylum seekers after a court ruled on Tuesday that they cannot live in a hotel in Epping, Essex.

He told Times Radio: “We’re looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we’ll look closely at what we’re able to do.”

Asked whether other hotels housing asylum seekers have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: “Well, we’ll see over the next few days and weeks.

“Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have.

“I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers.

“That’s precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.”

The leader of a council dealing with “an unreasonable and unsustainable strain” from asylum accommodation is “looking at the options now available” after Tuesday’s High Court ruling to remove asylum seekers from one Essex hotel.

Leader of West Northamptonshire Council Mark Arnull said in a statement: “We have always been clear with the government and the public that the current use of three hotels in West Northamptonshire have never been suitable locations for asylum accommodation and place an unreasonable and unsustainable strain on our already-stretched local services.”

The Reform UK councillor added: “We also know these hotels cause concerns for our communities and I have raised these issues with the Home Office and written to the Deputy Prime Minister about the wider use of asylum accommodation within our community.

“We are currently considering the implications of this judgment to understand any similarities and differences and are actively looking at the options now available to us.

“As such I am unable to comment further at this stage but will issue a further update when able to do so.

“In the meantime, we will continue to work with partners in the police and in our communities to make sure that residents’ concerns are heard and addressed.”

The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports:

Home Office accounts show that the government slashed the cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels last year, spending £2.1bn.

This is a £1bn (32 per cent) drop from 2023/4, when costs climbed to £3.1bn.

However, asylum housing costs come from the UK’s foreign aid budget, which has faced significant cuts this year.

The Foreign Office’s aid budget is at £8.7bn for 2025/6, while £2.2bn has been budgeted to cover hotel bills for asylum seekers.

A council trying to stop a hotel housing asylum seekers has said it will “go down the same path as Epping” after Tuesday’s High Court ruling.

Corina Gander, leader of Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire, said a hotel in the town of Cheshunt puts “an enormous strain on local services”.

“We are going to be looking at the ruling of Epping yesterday and we will be expecting to go down the same path as Epping,” the Conservative councillor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Ms Gander said her council previously tried to get legal advice to block the hotel, but had not been successful.

“What Epping have done is they have really set a precedent for local councils,” she added.

The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports:

Despite criticism, the government is housing fewer asylum seekers in hotel accommodation, latest figures show.

Some 32,000 asylum seekers were held in hotels earlier this year, according the Migration Observatory.

This is far from the peak of 56,000 in the third quarter of 2023, under the Conservative government.