Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the High Court ruling that the use of hotels to house unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is unlawful, what steps they will take to end the use of hotels for this purpose.

Hotel accommodation is a temporary means to accommodate the increased number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) arriving in the UK and is only ever a contingency option, not a long-term solution. The high number of UASC arrivals, particularly because of small boat crossings, has placed unprecedented pressure on the National Transfer Scheme (NTS). Out of necessity, the Home Office have accommodated UASC on an emergency and temporary basis in hotels while placements with local authorities have been vigorously pursued.

The High Court recently ruled that the routine and systematic use of hotels to accommodate UASC is unlawful, and we are working at pace with Kent County Council, other government departments and local authorities across the UK to ensure suitable local authority placements are provided for UASC urgently and sustainably.

The High Court has upheld that local authorities have a statutory duty to care for all children including UASC. The Home Office have always maintained that the best place for UASC to be accommodated is within a local authority.