Asylum hotels close as government scales up use of large sites

Eleven asylum hotels have been closed and given back to local communities, with multiple more set to close in the coming weeks, as the government ramps up action to end the use of hotels for illegal migrants.

The closures form part of the government's efforts to fix the broken asylum system - tackling the immediate pressure of hotel use while driving longer-term reform through faster asylum decisions, higher removals, and tougher enforcement.

Together, these reforms show the government delivering long-term change in line with the public's priorities.

This latest round of closures alone will save the taxpayer nearly £65 million a year, and since this government took office overall asylum costs have already fallen by nearly £1 billion.

The following hotels have now closed, with more to follow soon:

• Banbury House Hotel - Banbury, Oxfordshire

• Marine Court Hotel - Bangor, Ards and North Down

• 15 Citrus Hotel - Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

• Holiday Inn Heathrow - Hillingdon, London

• Britannia Hotel - Wolverhampton

• Madeley Court Hotel - Madeley, Telford & Wrekin

• OYO Lakeside - St Helens, Merseyside

• Crewe Arms Hotel - Crewe, Cheshire East

• Sure Hotel by Best Western - Aberdeen

• The Rock Hotel - Halifax, Calderdale

• Wool Merchant Hotel - Halifax, Calderdale

These closures are being driven by sweeping reforms introduced by the Home Secretary - increasing removals of people with no right to remain while moving those in the system out of expensive hotels and into larger, more basic accommodation.

Nearly 60,000 illegal migrants and foreign national offenders have been removed since the 2024 election, with last year seeing the highest removal rates in almost a decade.

At the same time, the government is scaling up the use of large, basic accommodation sites to move people out of hotels for good.

The government has now moved up to 350 illegal migrants to the Crowborough military barracks, which opened only 3 months ago. The use of basic accommodation will be scaled up as hotels close.

Those who are housed and have their asylum claims rejected will be removed from the UK.

Border Security and Asylum Minister Alex Norris said:

Hotels were meant to be a short-term stop-gap under the previous government, but they spiralled out of control - costing taxpayers billions and dumping the consequences on local communities.

We are shutting them down by moving people into more basic accommodation, scaling up large sites, removing record numbers of people with no right to remain.

This is about restoring control, ending waste, and handing hotels back to the community for good.

Under the last government, asylum decision-making ground to a halt, hotel use spiralled to around 400 sites, and the asylum backlog ballooned - driving hotel costs to £9 million a day at its peak while communities were left to cope with the consequences.

That number has now more than halved to just under 190, with the number of people housed in hotels down nearly 20% in the past year and 45% lower than the peak.

The Home Office are also driving down costs across the wider asylum system. For example, last week it was announced that in-donor refugee spending within the UK's Overseas Development Aid budget has been cut by £432 million, the lowest level since 2021.

As part of this broader crackdown on waste, over £74 million has already been recouped from poorly run asylum accommodation contracts, delivering better value for the taxpayer.

The government is also removing accommodation from people who can afford to support themselves and from those who break the rules, making clear that public support is for those who genuinely need it.

Action at home is being matched by stronger cooperation overseas. Through closer working with France, over 42,000 small boat crossings attempts have already been prevented since the election. This comes as new agreements have been struck with Germany, Iraq and Western Balkan countries to tackle migration at every step.

Meanwhile, asylum decision-making is now at a 24-year high after collapsing by 70% under the previous government. Decisions are now outpacing new claims, and people are moving through the system faster - out of hotels and, where they have no right to remain, out of the UK.

Net migration is also at its lowest level in half a decade and has fallen by more than two-thirds under this government, as the Home Secretary has set out fundamental reform to ensure those who come here put in more than they take out.

But ministers are clear they will not stop until every asylum hotel is permanently closed and returned to local communities.