Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of asylum seekers the Dolphin Hotel in Southampton has housed since it began providing temporary accommodation; and what the average occupancy rate was.

Occupancy levels are recorded at a specific point in time and vary daily. Statistics relating to asylum seekers temporarily residing in contingency accommodation are published as Immigration Statistics under the S98 population tables. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets. Data are published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 24 November 2022. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in February 2023.

The Home Office has no power to hold asylum seekers, including children, in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave.