Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of asylum seekers are housed in private accommodation; and what the costs were for housing them in private accommodation for each month in (a) 2021, and (b) 2022 so far.

The United Kingdom has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and other support whilst their application for asylum is being considered. Private accommodation is sourced through our Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) providers.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support(opens in a new tab). Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 24 May 2022.

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts.