British taxpayers are forking out £6m a day to house asylum seekers in hotels, a Labour peer has revealed. This shocking figure comes despite Rachel Reeves vowing to close every migrant hotel by July 2029.
Speaking in a debate in the House of Lords yesterday, July 1 Lord Hanson of Flint said the costs involved in operating asylum hotels have reduced by a third. According to Lord Hanson the figure is on a “downward trajectory” as this time last year housing asylum seekers was costing the country “£8.5m” under the Conservative government. He did admit, however, that the number is “still too high”.
He said: “We have reduced the number of hotels: in fact, we have fewer hotels now, in the week of the general election anniversary, than we had last year when the Conservative Party left office. It is our ambition to further reduce that.
“When the Conservatives were in office, hotel costs peaked at £9m per day. This time last year they were £8.5m per day, and this year they are £6m per day. That is still too high, but it is on the right, downward trajectory, and we will continue to safeguard in doing that.”
He added: “The [previous Conservative government] got us into the position of a rise in hotel numbers to a maximum of 400, a rising cost to £9m, a record number of people coming to this country, a failure to remove people who are being denied asylum, and a failure to process asylum claims in a speedy and effective way.”
It comes after it was revealed last month that more and more asylum seekers are appealing against rejected claims and their cases are taking over a year to be heard, prolonging stays in hotels.
Government figures show that, as of March, there were 50,976 outstanding appeals which is nearly double compared with last year and seven times higher than 2023. At 50,976, the number of asylum appeals is the equivalent of two-thirds (65%) of the backlog of initial decisions.
A total of 20,422 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year, with 440 arriving on Tuesday, the latest Home Office figures show.
It means 20,422 arrivals have been recorded since January 1.
This is the earliest point in the year at which the 20,000 mark has been passed since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018.