Migrant hotel costs rise to £8m a day, Home Office figures show

The cost of housing migrants in hotels has risen to £8m a day, according to new figures from the Home Office.

The use of hotels has increased over the last few years as the number of people entering the UK illegally or claiming asylum has hit record levels.

The government has promised to “reduce” the use of hotels to house migrants while their claims are processed.

In March the BBC learned around 400 hotels were being used, costing nearly £7m a day.

The Home Office’s Annual Accounts, published on Tuesday, promised to “take action to address the unacceptable costs of housing migrants in hotels which is costing the taxpayer around £8m a day”.

A government source said the new figures showed “why we’ve got to get migrants out of hotels and stop the boats”.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, accused the Conservatives of “busting the Home Office budget, breaking the asylum system, and the British people are paying the price”.

“Shockingly, the cost of hotel accommodation has gone up by a third since Rishi Sunak promised to end hotel use,” she added.

The government has a legal obligation to provide asylum seekers – who are not allowed to work while their claim is being processed – with a basic level of accommodation.

Asylum seekers would typically only be housed in hotels or hostels for a few weeks, before being moved to long-term self-catered homes.

However the increase in people claiming asylum -and the backlog of unprocessed claims – has led to a growth in the use of hotels to provide temporary accommodation.

A government source said: “We’re confident our Rwanda scheme, which is awaiting a judgment from the Supreme Court, will break the people smugglers’ business model.”

Under the government’s Rwanda plan, announced in April 2022, some asylum seekers would be sent to Rwanda, to claim asylum there.

The legality of the scheme is currently being considered by the Supreme Court, after an earlier ruling by the High Court that the Rwanda plan was lawful.