By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-19 23:00:40 | Updated at 2026-09-20 01:48:55
2 hours ago
The cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels has surged by more than a third despite Labour's pledge to end their use.
Taxpayers were spending an average of £199 per person per night on hotel accommodation as of April, according to figures revealed by the Home Office.
That marks a 37 per cent increase on the £144.98 figure previously provided by the department last October.
The latest bill amounts to £1,393 per week for each asylum seeker housed in a hotel.
Home Office Minister Anna Turley claimed the increase was partly a consequence of the Government gradually shutting asylum hotels.
Ms Turley told the Home Affairs Committee: “This figure has increased since the figures we last provided in October 2025, as hotel closures are being implemented in phases.
“As occupancy falls ahead of full site closure, the department continues to incur costs for some unoccupied rooms, which increases the average cost per person accommodated.”
The rising average cost comes despite the number of asylum seekers living in hotels falling sharply.
Some 16,021 people remained in asylum hotels at the end of June, down from 36,273 at the end of September last year.
That figure is also substantially below the peak of 56,018 recorded in September 2023.
The number of hotels being used fell from 200 at the end of last September to 160 by the end of June.
Alternative accommodation is considerably cheaper, with rented “dispersal” accommodation, including houses in multiple occupation, costing around £25 per person per night.
Home Office Minister Anna Turley claimed the increase was a consequence of the Government gradually shutting asylum hotels
Labour has sought to move asylum seekers into privately rented properties and former military sites while speeding up the processing of asylum claims.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham reiterated after entering Downing Street that Labour would end the use of asylum hotels entirely by the end of the current Parliament.
The figures emerge after ministers faced fury over plans to exempt asylum accommodation from the new overnight visitor levy.
Regional mayors are being handed powers to impose the levy on stays in hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets across England.
Some 16,021 people remained in asylum hotels at the end of June
However, taxpayer-funded asylum accommodation will be exempt because it is classed as temporary accommodation.
The Conservatives branded the exemption “utterly outrageous”, while hospitality industry figures have warned the levy could damage businesses and increase costs for holidaymakers.
Beyond hotels, another 73,068 asylum seekers were being housed in other forms of taxpayer-funded accommodation at the end of June.
A spokesman for Home Officr said: "The Government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1billion on asylum support since the election.
"Numbers in asylum hotels have been slashed by 50 per cent in the last year and 71 per cent since the peak in September 2023.
"We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community."
