The government is expected to close down 11 more so-called “asylum hotels” next week as it tries to move faster on tackling illegal immigration.
The closure of the controversial hotels is part of the government’s plan to end hotel accommodation for irregular migrants altogether and linked to a meeting this week on the new contract for asylum accommodation.
The hotels have become a magnet for rightwing anti-migrant protesters and centred around claims of attacks by asylum seekers on women and girls.
Notably, the Bell in Epping became a focus of far right demonstrations with the local Tory-led council unsuccessfully blocking its use as a holding place for asylum seekers waiting for their applications to be administered.
Latest government statistics show there are around 200 hotels in use, accommodating about 30,000 asylum seekers. More than 70,000 other asylum seekers live in other types of accommodation such as shared housing or military barracks.
According to The Guardian, the Home Office is due to hold a private event this week, described as an “industry day” for potential future providers of asylum accommodation.
The department has not disclosed details of the time and venue and it is reported that those attending have to sign a non disclosure agreement (NDA).
The meeting is understood to relate to the re-tendering of asylum contracts from 1 September 2029 until 31 August 2036, with a possible option to extend to 31 August 2039. The new contract, known as Future Asylum Contracts Accommodation, has been valued at approximately £10bn and will enact the government aim of moving away from reliance on hotel accommodation.
Controversially, the Home Office uses part of the already reduced overseas aid budget to fund asylum accommodation in a practice known as “in donor refugee costs”.
These costs amounted to around £2.8bn in 2024 to £2.4bn in 2025.
The Home Office has been asked to comment on the claims but not responded.
A Home Office spokesperson told The Guardian: “This government is removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain and ramping up removals of those with no right to be here. That is why we are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation including ex-military sites.
“The population in asylum hotels has fallen by nearly 20 per cent in the last year and by 45 per cent since the peak under the previous government, cutting costs by nearly £1bn.”
