The Government is seeking alternative accommodation for migrants and asylum seekers, with tower blocks, former student halls and old teacher training colleges being considered options. On Tuesday, the High Court granted a temporary injunction blocking asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping.
The ruling potentially paves the way for local authorities across the UK to challenge Home Office decisions to place asylum seekers in hotels. Moving the migrants to new locations could prove a huge headache for the Government, as most recent data shows that 32,345 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March, up 8% on a year ago.
Dame Angela Eagle told MPs “the likes of voided tower blocks, old teacher training colleges or old student accommodation” could help fill the gap where larger sites, such as former MoD bases, proved a “far greater expenditure than was expected”.
The Times reports Dame Eagle, the minister for border security, told MPs earlier this year: “A lot of the experience of trying to bring large sites into use demonstrated that lots of money, far greater expenditure than was expected, was not delivering many rooms.
“The idea with medium sites is to use the likes of voided tower blocks, old teacher training colleges or old student accommodation that is not being used, where you could have more rooms than you can get with dispersed accommodation.
“The idea is to move from hotels to that kind of thing, rather than old military bases or holiday camps.”
After the High Court ruling, Dame Eagle added the Government will “continue working with local authorities and communities to address legitimate concerns”. She said: “Our work continues to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament.”
Labour has pledged to end the “costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament” – which would be 2029, if not earlier. Campaigners and charities have long argued that hotels are not suitable environments to house asylum seekers.
The Refugee Council said they “cost the taxpayer billions, trap people in limbo and are flashpoints in communities” and urged the Government to “partner with local councils to provide safe, cost-effective accommodation within communities”.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation, known as contingency accommodation, if they are awaiting assessment of their claim or have had a claim approved and there is not enough longer-term accommodation available.
The Home Office provides accommodation to asylum seekers who have no other way of supporting themselves on a “no choice” basis, so they cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to accommodation such as hotels and large sites, like former military bases.