Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2022 to Question 60188, on Asylum: Temporary Accommodation which stated that her Department is using five hotels to accommodate young people temporarily (a) whether any of those hotels exclusively accommodates unaccompanied minors and (b) whether any of those hotels are in Northern Ireland.

The UK is experiencing an unprecedented increase in the number of people making life-threatening journeys to cross the Channel. These boats are often carrying unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) and this has placed unprecedented pressure on the National Transfer Scheme. Out of necessity and with the children’s best interests in mind, we have arranged for them to be accommodated on an emergency and temporary basis in hotels whilst placements with local authorities are being vigorously pursued. These emergency interim hotels only accommodate UASC.

There are no emergency interim hotels for UASC in Northern Ireland.