Overview

• Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged in her spending review that hotels will no longer house asylum seekers before the next general election.
• The Home Office has logged 198 expressions of interest from councils to convert disused tower blocks, student halls and similar medium-size sites into temporary asylum accommodation.
• Ministers earmarked £200 million from the Transformation Fund plus up to £280 million annually for Border Security Command to speed up claim processing and tackle the backlog.
• Government data show 32,345 asylum seekers were in hotel accommodation at the end of March 2025, down 15% from December 2024.
• The National Audit Office warns asylum housing costs will reach £15.3 billion over ten years, with hotels accounting for 76% of contract spending.