My Lords, it gives me great pleasure to bring this debate to your Lordships’ House this evening. I am grateful to all noble Lords who are participating. The purpose of the debate is to question the Government on an issue that resonates deeply with communities across the country: when will they see the end of the use of hotels to house asylum seekers? This is a challenge which demands urgent action. It is not just about fiscal responsibility but about rebuilding public confidence in our immigration system, fostering community cohesion and ensuring Britain remains a nation of both compassion and order.
Let me state clearly: Britain has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those fleeing persecution. As the Minister will know, Wales is a nation of sanctuary. Swansea, where I hail from, is a local authority of sanctuary, which I know so well. We have welcomed in refugees from Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong, which, when in government, we could say we were proud of. But what we see today—a dependence on hotels as a stopgap solution—is neither compassionate nor sustainable.
First, let us address the financial burden. According to the latest Home Office figures, housing asylum seekers in hotels costs taxpayers over £8 million a day. This staggering expenditure is indefensible, particularly after a Budget which has increased pressures on employers, farmers and families, and reduced employment opportunities.
The Government should explain why this costly and inefficient approach is being allowed to continue, but we must also come to this debate with honest intentions. Yes, processing asylum claims was a challenge under the previous Conservative Government, despite it being one of our political priorities. With that in mind, I genuinely wish the Minister well in tackling this issue and I hope he is able to rise to the challenge presented.
I fear that hotels, together with small boats, have become an obsession of the right, used by some to whip up hostility to asylum seekers, the dreadful results of which we saw last summer in the riots. The impression given is that asylum seekers are living a comfortable life in four-star hotels. Not so, as shown by three recent reports from the Helen Bamber Foundation and Asylum Aid, IPPR, and Women for Refugee Women. They paint a picture of “terrible living conditions”: unhygienic and dilapidated accommodation; overcrowding and lack of privacy, with enforced room sharing; very poor and inadequate food; and accommodation that is often unsuitable for children. Women, many of whom have fled gender-based violence, can be subject to various controlling practices, isolation from support networks, and degrading and voyeuristic behaviour from hotel staff. Overall, the effect is frequently exacerbation of mental health problems and re-traumatisation.
Of particular concern is the situation of children, including those wrongly assessed as adults, who are forced to share rooms with adults with no safeguards, to the detriment of their mental health. I gently remind my noble friend the Minister that he owes me a letter on this issue from when I raised it at Oral Questions in November.
I am not defending the use of hotels—far from it—but in the immediate short term they are at least preferable to even worse large sites, such as the “Bibby Stockholm”, which is thankfully closed now, and to homelessness, the lot of all too many asylum seekers when they receive refugee status. The extension of the 28 days move-on period to 56 days for a trial period is thus welcome, even if it means a longer stay in a hotel—though the consensus is that this should be made permanent.
My Lords, I declare a non-financial interest as president of Migration Watch, but I shall speak personally today. This is a very difficult subject. Many good-hearted people have been working on these issues for years. Sadly, the situation has got steadily worse, and I suggest that it is now time for an entirely new approach, changing the legal system as necessary.
I will make four brief points. First, asylum is serious, but it is far from being the main issue. Legal net migration in the year to June 2024, at nearly 1 million, was more than 30 times the number who crossed the channel illegally in that year. It is high time that this massive legal inflow was tackled with the seriousness it deserves. At present, it seems that the Government are focusing on asylum to distract attention from the huge scale of legal migration that they have inherited.
Secondly, as regards asylum, it is absurd that we should accept, effectively without penalty, applications from asylum seekers who have destroyed their documents. As a result, claimants have a clear incentive to move on to the UK from the safe countries that they have already reached.
Thirdly, those who arrive without documents should no longer be accommodated in hotels, free to come and go and with some £40 a week to spend. Instead, they should be held in secure campsites until their cases have been decided. Any who left this temporary accommodation without permission should have their asylum claims automatically dismissed. The word would quickly spread, the numbers and costs would fall, taxpayers’ money would be spent on genuine cases and the numbers drowning in the channel would fall sharply.
This would be a radical change and would take time, but we simply cannot go on as we are—still less can we take the approach that the Government are now taking. I refer to the terms of the Refugees (Family Reunion) Bill, which is currently going through this House. As noble Lords will know, the current position allows entry to the UK only for parents, partners and children under 18. They have averaged about 6,500 a year over the past 10 years. The Bill proposes that family members of a person granted protected status should include parents, spouses, unmarried partners, children, adopted children and others dependent on the above. It even goes on to include
My Lords, the first issue I wish to address is the experience of women in asylum hotels. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, I will highlight the recent report from Women for Refugee Women, Coercion and Control, which was the first of its kind to specifically examine the treatment of asylum-seeking women in hotels. The noble Baroness explained some of the deeply concerning findings from the report.
The impact on women’s mental health is severe. According to the report, 91% of women felt anxious or depressed and nearly half had suicidal thoughts. As the Minister will be aware and as the noble Baroness highlighted, many of these women have fled horrific circumstances and endured a traumatic journey to the UK. What they are now experiencing in hotels only compounds their suffering. The report calls for an end to the use of hotel accommodation, immediate action to address its harmful effects and the provision of safe and supportive accommodation. I welcome the Government’s commitment to prioritise survivors of gender-based violence and ensure that they receive the support they need. Can the Minister reassure us that this will include survivors who are seeking asylum?
My second point concerns the financial impact of hotel costs on the UK’s important work overseas. In 2023, the Home Office was allocated nearly £3 billion, or 20% of official development assistance. The UK reports the highest costs per refugee of any country—over 30% higher than the next-highest country, Ireland, and 150% higher than the next-highest G7 country. These statistics highlight the need for urgent action to control costs. Of course I acknowledge that it was a previous Conservative Government which cut the development spend from 0.7% to 0.5%—a decision I deeply regret—but our in-country refugee costs, the vast majority being hotel costs, were partially offset by the previous Government in the 2022 Autumn Budget, with an additional £2.5 billion in ODA funding to help manage the pressure on refugee services. Despite comparable pressures now, this additional funding was not repeated by the Government in their Budget in the autumn, leaving the FCDO facing, yet again, significant and sudden cuts to its programmes.
My Lords, I declare an interest as the patron of the charity ASSIST Sheffield. In the interests of time, I will limit my remarks to three key points.
First, there is the question of safety. One of the communities I serve as the Bishop of Sheffield is Rotherham. Noble Lords may recall how, in August last year, a group of asylum seekers living at the Holiday Inn in Manvers were deliberately targeted, in an incident that led to criminal convictions for over 60 men. The following month, at the request of the Mayor of South Yorkshire, I arranged for one of the churches in Sheffield, Christ Church Fulwood, to offer sanctuary for the day, free of charge, to a group of asylum seekers because there were fears that their hotel could be subject to a similar attack. Quite simply, it subjects asylum seekers to danger if they are placed in hotels in visible numbers. Dispersed accommodation offers greater protection and, for that reason, we should move to that provision as swiftly as possible.
Secondly, hotel accommodation by and large inhibits rather than promotes the integration of asylum seekers into local communities, and it increases rather than decreases their sense of isolation and precariousness. I am grateful to the Minister for acknowledging the need to transition from hotels to dispersed accommodation, and for affirming the observation of the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, last week that asylum seekers are not currently well integrated into local services—but the two are connected. Noble Lords will be aware that, in 2024, nearly 7,500 unaccompanied children seeking asylum were in the care of local authorities across the UK. May I press the Minister and ask what actions he is taking to engage in mutually constructive discussions and consultations with local authorities to provide asylum seekers with sorely needed access to support services and continuity of place, not least to ensure the welfare of unaccompanied children?
My Lords, I have considerable sympathy with the Ministers of this Government and previous Governments with regard to hotels. However, the Minister answered a Question last week and I got a sense of complete complacency, not only in Parliament but in government, about the position that all this immigration is leading us to. The truth is that the system is completely out of control and has been for some considerable time. We talk about dispersed accommodation and integration, which I fully support, but if you have 20,000 people per week coming into the country, how do you disperse and integrate them? The numbers are just uncontrollable, given the shortages of accommodation that we already have.
Then we say, “Well, we’ve got waiting lists in the health service”. Of course we have waiting lists in the health service. If you are increasing your population at that rate, how could it be anything else? The question is a basic one and it goes back to the fact that it is gangsters who are running these people, taking money off them and putting them into harm’s way in the channel in the hope that they will get to the other side, although they have already pocketed the money. Although the Government have made a commitment that they are going to tackle that as their number one priority—the Prime Minister has been very explicit about it—I would like to hear from the Minister what progress has been made.
We have a long tradition, of course, of opening our doors—it goes back to the Kinder trains in the 1930s and 1940s; of course, the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, is one of the shining examples of the success of that—but as a country, we just do not have the capability or capacity to deal with the numbers and we are just not facing up to it. Look at what is happening around the world; look at what is happening today in the United States and why it is happening. Look at what has happened in other countries in Europe and look, in a few weeks’ time, at what might happen in Germany. We cannot just keep sweeping this under the carpet.
My Lords, it has become something of a trope to call the first day of the third week in January—that is today—Blue Monday, when people feel at their lowest and nothing much works. Sometimes people make that accusation of migration policy. When I got to work today, I was cheered, in the office where I am, to see that the people who run the building were making a valiant effort by turning Blue Monday into what they called “Brew Monday”. None the less, I think today is appropriate to debate the horrendous growth in the cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels. This is still a fast-growing practice and it represents just the very tip of the iceberg of migration policy in the UK.
A generation ago, the problem seemed possible to handle. Numbers were much lower, and they were easily divisible into asylum seekers generally fleeing persecution and economic migrants seeking betterment; no more. The escalating numbers all seem to claim to be genuine asylum seekers needing lodging, while the ever-lengthening queue waits to be processed. The situation we are in is a major state failure by all parties, for government, political parties, think-tankers and policymakers are nowhere near a solution to the situation that faces us, despite great efforts, which I recognise, much thinking and huge expenditure. In saying this, I make no partisan attack on the Benches opposite; I assure the noble Lord, Lord Hanson of Flint, of that.
All parties have had a go over the past 40 years, but when good ideas have emerged, such as using more redundant military camps, in the end, both major parties, Labour and Tory alike, have balked in the face of “No migrants in my backyard” protests. We might be a bit better off if we had not collectively balked at that. Of course, there have been all the headline-seeking suggestions about leaving the ECHR. Sure, some of those who make it to our shores might be easier to remove, but to send them back to where? It is a practical issue, and it is unlikely to stop migrants making the attempt in the first place anyway.
Secondly, the impact on local communities cannot be ignored. From seaside towns to rural villages, hotels that once supported tourism and local employment have been repurposed as temporary accommodation. This has led to economic disruption, increased pressure on local services and growing frustration among residents. It now falls to the Labour Government to act decisively. At the last opportunity to question the Minister on this, I raised the enforcement unit. He did not have the figures on how many people were hired to date by the unit. I wonder: does he have the figures today?
The heart of this crisis lies in a broken asylum system over many years and many successive Governments, regardless of their political colour. This not only strains public finances but undermines confidence in our ability to distinguish between genuine asylum seekers and those seeking to exploit the system.
So, what should be done? First, the Government must accelerate the clearing of the asylum backlog. This requires more than resources; it demands clear leadership and effective management. Secondly, we must tackle illegal crossings at their source. Bilateral agreements with key countries are vital, as are robust deterrents and investments in border enforcement. However, while gathering intelligence is all well and good, it is useful only provided that it can be converted into practical arrests. I will be keen to see the Government’s progress on this subject and will continue to question them on it. Finally, fairness must underpin every policy: fairness to taxpayers, fairness to communities, and fairness to those who follow legal, safe routes.
The Government’s reliance on hotel accommodation for asylum seekers is an issue that needs addressing imminently. While we await the Government’s progress, this issue also highlights the challenges we faced, and must learn from, when we were in government. Now is the time for leadership. We must move beyond short-term fixes and deliver a comprehensive plan that restores order to the asylum system, strengthens our communities, and upholds the values that define our nation.
I will ask a couple of questions of the Minister. Following on from a previous Oral Question, which I am afraid still requires clarity, what measures are being implemented by the Minister to ensure local communities are consulted and supported during this transition? On the bilateral agreements that we have often been made aware of, what progress has been made in deterring illegal crossings and facilitating the return of individuals with unfounded claims?
I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response. I thank all noble Lords and I look forward to hearing from them in this debate.
In the longer term, the current policy of moving towards dispersal to community-based accommodation in collaboration with local authorities is the answer and has Local Government Association support. It chimes with calls from many groups and the Commission on the Integration of Refugees. I urge my noble friend the Minister to read the commission’s report if he has not yet done so. Also, is he considering triggering the break clause with private providers next year?
Finally, as noted at Oral Questions last week, an immediate step that would reduce pressure on accommodation would be to allow asylum seekers to undertake paid work after six months. The chair of the Migration Advisory Committee notes that if the laudable aim of processing asylum claims within six months is met it would cease to be relevant, but otherwise there is a strong argument from both integration and public finances perspectives. The standard Home Office response—that it would act as a pull factor—was dismissed by the Institute for Government as an example of policy based on “ill-founded assumptions” rather than good evidence. I am afraid I do not find my noble friend’s argument that he made last week—that it could lead to illegal work—very persuasive, either.
A new Government provides the opportunity to develop a comprehensive and positive integration policy for asylum seekers and refugees that would make the use of hotels redundant. This should be the priority.
“such other persons as the Secretary of State may determine, having regard to … the importance of maintaining family unity”,
including
“the physical, emotional, psychological or financial dependency between a person granted protection status and another person”.
This is crazy. It is the exact opposite of what the present situation requires. The likely scale of the resultant inflow would have a very serious impact on community relations in this country. The public have had enough of being ignored by Governments on these matters. This Government would be well advised to amend their draft legislation and to do so soon.
I very much welcome the news earlier this month of an additional £540 million of funding for the FCDO, which, thankfully, avoids hitting a 17-year low in spending on our overseas programmes. This amount was from the increase in gross national income and a fall in spending on domestic refugee costs. I know that the Minister supports transparency in government spending, so can he clarify how much of this £540 million was due to the fall in spending on asylum hotels?
Success in our development work benefits not only the countries we work with but also us here at home. Done right, it can help to tackle many of the drivers of illegal migration in the first place. But it requires certainty and long-term planning—something that, sadly, has been impossible in recent years. This is yet another reason to urgently reduce the backlog and move to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers.
My third and final reflection is that it is worth emphasising that the substantial costs associated with the use of hotel accommodation reflect the backlogs and delays resulting from a dysfunctional asylum system. In other words, the asylum seekers themselves are not to blame for the strain on the public purse. In any case, each is an individual created in the image and likeness of God, to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect—especially in view of their very real vulnerability. Frankly, it would be not only a better use of public funds but a better expression of care to seek to move as quickly as possible from hotel accommodation to dispersed accommodation. I urge the Minister to urge the Government to accelerate that process.
Part of the problem goes back, I think, to the good will that was genuinely expressed over 70 years ago when we were dealing with the 1951 refugee convention. On 30 July last year, I asked the noble Lord, Lord Collins of Highbury, a Written Question:
“To ask his Majesty’s Government whether they are discussing with other countries amendments to the 1951 Refugee Convention to take into account the changed world circumstances”.
The Answer was:
“The Government is not discussing amendments to the Refugee Convention with other countries”.
Why not? It was done with good will and the right intentions quite a number of years ago, but it is out of date and we need to address it. I hope the Minister can give us some comfort on that.
We are under international obligations, and that is why we need an international solution, but we also have national obligations. We have just taken a heating allowance of £200 a year off pensioners who are earning just over £12,500 a year, yet it costs £145 a night to house anybody who comes in on a boat, and they also have access to our health service and so on, while other people in our own community do not. We have to be compassionate on one side, but we also have to be realistic on the other.
So, at the beginning of what I think over the years will come to be called “the long Parliament”, between now and 2029, it is absolutely right that my noble friend Lord Davies of Gower should have introduced this Question for Short Debate. I want to ask the Minister whether HMG now—I cannot quite see it and I am happy to be educated by him, as he has done in the past—have a clear plan, underpinned by verifiable, practical policies, to have at least reversed, no better than that, present trends by Blue Monday 2029.