Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Asylum Hotels

Monday 13 January 2025 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 5 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government inherited an asylum system with a significant backlog from the previous Conservative administration.
  • The Minister committed to reducing the number of asylum hotels by the end of March.
  • The Government has increased decision-making on asylum claims to over 11,000 per month.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Ashley Fox Con Bridgwater
Asylum & Refugees
Context

MP noted a net increase of six asylum hotels since the general election, despite closures scheduled for March.

Question

The Government’s new policy of smashing the gangs has enabled them to close seven asylum hotels. Unfortunately they have had to open another 14. When will the number of asylum seekers in hotel accommodation be lower than when she took office?

Answer from The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)

Because of the size of the backlog we inherited from the Conservative party and an asylum system in chaos, with tens of thousands of people in limbo and very little processing happening, the problem cannot be solved overnight. However, by the end March there will be fewer hotels as nine more are scheduled to close.

Partly answered
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Q2 Chris Murray Lab Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
Asylum & Refugees
Context

MP highlighted waste of public money on asylum accommodation, citing an example in Northeye.

Question

The previous Government wasted a scandalous amount of public money on asylum accommodation. For example, in Northeye they paid double what the previous owners had paid, without checking that the building did not have asbestos and contaminated ground, so it could not be used. Will the Minister commit to being more effective in providing value for public money?

Answer from The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)

We will certainly do that. We should also remember the £60 million the Conservative party wasted on RAF Scampton and the £15 million on a derelict, asbestos-ridden former prison in Bexhill.

Partly answered
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Q3 Andrew Mitchell Con Sutton Coldfield
Asylum & Refugees
Context

MP inquired about the Ramada hotel on Penns Lane, which was previously slated for closure.

Question

The Ramada hotel on Penns Lane has always been the wrong place because it is too far away from inner-city Birmingham-based services. Under the last Government, the facility was slated for closure. Will the Minister look urgently at winding it down and closing it as soon as possible?

Answer from The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)

It is our intention to close all asylum hotels as soon as possible, once we deal with the backlog that we inherited from the Conservative party.

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Q4 Euan Stainbank Lab Falkirk
Asylum & Refugees
Context

MP highlighted the mess made by the Tories and the progress in processing claims.

Question

Asylum accommodation hotels were once emergency measures but have now lasted several years because of the mess the Tories made. Scrapping the Rwanda scheme and recommencing the processing of claims has led to a substantially lower backlog than we would have had if we had continued with Tory policies, but there is still much more to do. Will the Minister update the House on progress towards ending asylum hotel accommodation and cutting waiting times for asylum application decisions?

Answer from The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)

We inherited a system where very few decisions were being made. We have ramped up decision making to over 11,000 decisions a month and we are dealing with the backlog.

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Q5 Katie Lam Con Weald of Kent
Asylum & Refugees Benefits & Welfare
Context

MP noted that housing asylum seekers in hotels is spectacularly expensive.

Question

Housing asylum seekers in hotels has been 6,000 more cases in just the first three months of this Government. The Home Secretary’s policy is to make asylum decisions quickly so that any costs of migrants she accepts can be hidden in the welfare system. Will the Minister commit today to recording and publishing all those costs for migrants whose asylum claims she accepts?

Answer from The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)

I will take no lessons from the Conservative party, which spent £700 million to send four volunteers to Rwanda and left huge backlogs of more than 90,000 stopped asylum claims—people in hotels unable to leave because the Conservatives were trying to get their fantasy Rwanda programme off the ground.

How: Deflecting

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Q6 Lisa Smart Lib Dem Hazel Grove
Asylum & Refugees
Context

MP highlighted a constituent's case and the temporary pause in decision making for Syrian asylum seekers.

Question

My constituent Majida and her three children are asylum seekers from Syria, living in one of two asylum hotels in my Hazel Grove constituency. They have been living in limbo for nine months as they wait for a decision on their asylum claim. What circumstances is the Minister waiting for to resume decision making on asylum applications from Syrians, and when does she expect that to happen?

Answer from The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Dame Angela Eagle)

Until Syria’s future becomes a little more settled, it is difficult to decide those claims. We inherited 5,500 Syrian asylum seekers in our system who fled the Assad regime. We are keeping the matter under close observation.

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