Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children seeking asylum were placed in hotel accommodation by the Home Office in the last three months, broken down by number of nights spent in that accomodation.

The High Court has upheld that local authorities have a statutory duty to care for UASC. We have always maintained that the best place for unaccompanied children to be accommodated is within a local authority. The High Court recently noted that improvements, plus impressive collaboration between the Home Office and Kent County Council, has led to a significant fall in the number of lone children being accommodated in hotels.

Since 18 November 2023, the one remaining hotel in Kent has remained empty. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023.