Labour to ramp up closure of asylum hotels in Spring under immigration crackdown

Ministers will accelerate the closure of migrant hotels in the spring as part of plans to reduce pressure on the asylum system.

Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood announced sweeping changes to immigration reforms at the end of last year, including making refugee status temporary and removing the right to family reunification. The Labor government has pledged to end the use of expensive asylum hotels by 2029, but the number of asylum seekers housed in controversial accommodation has increased compared to last year.

According to first reported plans, the Home Office is expected to accelerate hotel closures in spring this year. I paper.

This will be facilitated by moving migrants awaiting asylum-seeking decisions to different forms of housing. Ministers have pledged to open army barracks to house refugees and suggested pop-up buildings could be used to create space. More houses with more than one dwelling may also be used to house asylum seekers.

The Home Office hopes to accelerate moves from the UK to make room for hotel space. Ms Mahmood also vowed to cancel housing and financial support from asylum seekers who have the right to work or have broken the law. The Home Secretary will remove the current legal obligation to provide support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. The government has promised to scrap the mandate in the coming months and replace it with discretionary powers that will further restrict who is helped.

A senior Whitehall source said: I The document states that the one-in, one-out agreement with France will also be expanded and that the government is hopeful that a similar agreement can be signed with Germany.

More to follow…