Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of asylum-seekers in hotel accommodation awaiting an inadmissibility decision.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.

The significant increase in dangerous journeys across the Channel is placing unprecedented strain on our asylum system and it has made it necessary to continue to use hotels to accommodate some asylum seekers. The use of hotels is a short-term solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.

Statistics relating to supported asylum seekers temporarily residing in contingency accommodation are published as Immigration Statistics under the S98 population tables. The latest publication (March 2022) can be found here Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab), under the document Asylum seekers in receipt of support (second edition)(opens in a new tab).

The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of statistics which disaggregates the number of asylum seekers accommodated in specific types of accommodation, or the number at specific stages of the asylum process. These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.