Asylum hotels ‘spiralled out of control’, minister admits as more closures announced
Another 11 shelter hotels have closed as the government continues its program to place individuals in alternative housing.
The closures confirmed on Tuesday evening include sites that have previously seen public protests, such as the Britannia Hotel in Wolverhampton and OYO Lakeside in St Helens.
This latest move is estimated to save £65 million a year and bring the total number of hotels used for refugee accommodation to under 190; this is a significant drop from the peak of around 400 seen during the Conservative administration.
Border minister Alex Norris said the hotels were meant to be a “short-term stopgap solution” but were “getting out of control, costing taxpayers billions of dollars and bearing the consequences on local communities”.
He said: “We are closing them by moving people into more basic accommodation, enlarging large areas, eliminating record numbers of people who have no right to stay.
“This is about regaining control, ending waste and giving hotels fully back to the community.”
The Home Office said further closures would be announced “soon”.
While ministers have vowed to end the use of hotels to house refugees by the next election, some people are already moving into places such as disused army barracks.
Home Office officials said around 350 people were moved to the former barracks at Crowborough in East Sussex, which was opened to asylum seekers in January.
The number of people housed in hotels amounted to 30,657 at the end of 2025; That’s down 15% from September, but still above the record low of 29,561 just before the 2024 general election.
The numbers peaked at 56,018 in September 2023.
At the same time, the number of people in “dispersion shelters” increased by almost 3,000 compared to 2025.
Dispersed housing usually includes privately managed houses, flats or rooms in multi-occupancy properties and is only available to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The reality is that the latest figures show there are more asylum seekers in hotels than at election time.
“And this is despite the Government moving people from hotels to flats to hide what is going on. These flats are not available to young people struggling to get on the housing ladder.
“The majority of asylum seekers are illegal immigrants. Keir Starmer has taken in more illegal immigrants on small boats than any prime minister in history, and numbers have increased by 45% since the election.”
“The Conservatives’ plan is to leave the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) so that illegal immigrants are deported within a week of arrival, not put into hotels or apartments. But Labor is too weak to do this.”
