Overview
- The Home Office says it will end the automatic duty to support some destitute asylum seekers, allowing accommodation and weekly payments to be withdrawn in defined cases.
- Evictions of eligible residents from government-contracted hotels are scheduled to begin in the spring, with further shutdowns expected as early as April.
- Those targeted include people deemed able to support themselves, individuals with a right to work, offenders or illegal workers, and those who refuse removal orders.
- Ministers plan to shift people into former military barracks, houses in multiple occupation, pop-up buildings and a council housing pilot to reduce reliance on hotels.
- The government is seeking to expand its one-in, one-out returns deal with France and explore a similar agreement with Germany, with reports also pointing to potential renewed removals to Syria; 111,651 were receiving support and more than 36,000 were in hotels as of September.