Government struggling to reduce migrant hotel use as asylum claims hit record level
Government efforts to reduce the use of expensive hotel accommodation for asylum seekers have stalled in the face of local opposition and court bottlenecks.
During last year’s election, Labour promised to end the use of hotels by 2029.
But data released on Thursday by the Home Office shows there are more asylum seekers in hotels than when Sir Keir Starmer took office.
As of 30 June this year, there were 32,059 asylum seekers staying in hotels compared with 29,585 in June 2024.
The government has been trying to get more asylum seekers into residential housing, which is much cheaper than hotels, by dispersing them to more locations across the country.
But the arrival of asylum seekers in new areas, and the use of residential housing to accommodate them, has provoked a backlash from residents and local politicians.
This has made it crucial for the government to cut the overall number in need of housing – either by reducing the number of applicants or by processing their claims more quickly.
The data, however, shows that the government is struggling on both fronts.
Effort to reduce hotel use
Both Conservative and Labour governments have sought to decrease reliance on hotel accommodation for asylum seekers due to soaring costs.
The Home Office spent £4.76bn on asylum last year, almost four times as much as it spent in 2020-21 (£1.34bn). Of every £1 spent, 76p went on hotel accommodation alone.
Housing an asylum seeker in a hotel costs around £170 per night, compared with £27 for other types of accommodation, according to estimates by Oxford University’s Migration Observatory.
A policy introduced in 2023, under the Conservatives, sought to reduce reliance on hotels by dispersing asylum seekers more evenly across the country.
Data shows that the policy started having an impact even before it was formally implemented.
In September 2022, 31% of asylum seekers were housed in just ten councils. Three months later, that figure had fallen to 24%.
But Sky News analysis shows that areas which have seen more asylum seekers arriving since then are actually more likely to use hotels – undercutting the purpose of the policy.
And the arrival of asylum seekers in locations across the country has sparked protests by residents and legal action by councils.
You can see how the policy has affected your area using the table below.
Residents and politicians have also raised concerns about the main alternative to hotels – the use of residential housing, including houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
In her maiden speech to Parliament in May, Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby Sarah Pochin described HMOs housing asylum seekers as “breeding grounds for organised crime gangs”.
A huge backlog of claims
The fact that the government is being criticised wherever it places asylum seekers suggests that their real problem is the overall number of asylum seekers requiring accommodation.
As of June, that number stood at 102,866, more than twice as high as March 2020 (48,042) and only 14% below the record levels reached in September 2023 (119,010).
The government is required under international law to provide asylum seekers with housing while their claims are being assessed if they would otherwise be “destitute”.
And because the government also forbids asylum seekers from working until their claims are approved, that means they have to provide accommodation for almost all of them.
Since 2020, the number of asylum seekers awaiting a final decision on their claim has more than doubled.
That is partly due to a slowdown in processing asylum claims.
In May 2019, the Conservative government abandoned a target of processing most claims within six months. By March 2020, the share processed within six months fell from 52% to 39%.
“By delaying or not taking decisions, they produced this huge backlog that also put a lot of pressure on the provision of accommodation,” says Professor Nando Sigona of the University of Birmingham.
A rise in asylum applications
The issue was exacerbated by a surge in asylum claims after pandemic restrictions were eased in 2021.
Home Office data shows that the number of decisions made on asylum applications fell during this period and only began to increase significantly in 2023.
That increase in decisions has helped to cut the number of cases awaiting an initial decision over the past year from 85,839 to 70,532.
On Thursday, as the statistics were released, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government was making progress on the backlog and had reduced it by 18%.
But appeals to these initial decisions are common, and the government is required to house asylum seekers until their appeals are over.
Data from the Ministry of Justice shows that, as of March this year, 50,976 claims were awaiting appeal decisions.
That puts the total backlog at 129,721 cases, up from 119,066 in June last year.
Professor Sigona says that the number of people applying for asylum has risen across Europe in recent years, but that other countries have avoided being obliged to house so many of them by relaxing work requirements.
“In Europe asylum seekers are allowed to work much more rapidly,” says Eleonore Kofman, professor of gender, migration and citizenship at Middlesex University.
Without the right to work, she says, “you kind of lock them into destitution and you have to provide housing for them”.
The government has struggled to reduce small boat arrivals
As well as increasing the processing of asylum claims, the government has sought to reduce the number of claims by reducing small boat crossings.
However, a total of 43,309 people arrived in the UK by small boat during Labour’s first year in office, a 38% increase on the year before. Almost all of them (99%) claimed asylum.
In the year to June, people crossing on small boats accounted for 38% of asylum claims.
The UK requires people to apply for asylum from within the country but does not offer a visa for those wishing to make an application.
This means that most people who want to flee to the UK must come illegally – either by using another type of visa, or by entering irregularly.
On 6 August, a deal between the UK and France took effect, opening up a new route for asylum seekers and a possible way for the government to deter small boat crossings.
Under the agreement, France will accept the return of migrants who arrive in the UK by small boat in exchange for the UK accepting an equivalent number of asylum seekers currently in France.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that the new policy “sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat.”
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, director of the Migration Observatory think tank Madeleine Sumption said it remains unclear how many people France will agree to take back.
“If it’s a relatively small, symbolic number… then asylum seekers may just see that there’s one more risk… at the end of an already risky journey and [it’s] something that they’re willing to accept.”
As of Wednesday, 2,561 migrants had arrived in the UK by small boat since the policy took effect.
Additional reporting by Sophia Massam.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Scotland secured a place at the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998 as stoppage-time goals by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean secured a thrilling 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park.
Scott McTominay’s spectacular third-minute bicycle kick had given the hosts a half-time lead.
Rasmus Hojlund equalised for the Danes in the 57th minute shortly before Rasmus Kristensen was sent off, but Lawrence Shankland restored Scotland’s advantage.
When Patrick Dorgu brought Denmark level again with nine minutes remaining, it seemed they would claim the point needed to top the group and book their place at next year’s tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
However, Tierney fired an unstoppable shot past Kasper Schmeichel in the third minute of stoppage time
And then, with the Denmark goalkeeper up in attack at the other end of the pitch, McLean hit a long-range effort from his own half to spark delirious scenes.
Scotland’s Kenny McLean celebrates scoring his side’s fourth goal against Denmark. Pic: PA
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The victory saw Scotland top Group C and secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Head coach Steve Clarke had already led his country to back-to-back European Championships.
He told the BBC: “Scott McTominay scored the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen, and it might not have been the best goal of the night!”
Scott McTominay celebrates scoring the opening goal for Scotland. Pic: Reuters
Scotland captain Andy Robertson dedicated the victory to his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who died earlier this year in a car accident.
He told the BBC: “We certainly put the country through it, but I’m sure it will be worth it.”
“I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today,” he added. We spoke so much together about the World Cup. When he missed out in Qatar through injury and I missed out when Scotland never went.
“We always discussed what it would be like going to this World Cup. I know he’ll be somewhere smiling over me tonight.”
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on 5 December.
The best and worst delivery companies have been revealed in new research by Citizens Advice.
According to a survey carried out for the report, a record 15 million people experienced a problem with their latest delivery – more than one in three of those surveyed.
Yodel came last in a league table compiled by the charity, with a score of two out of five stars.
Royal Mail scored the highest at 3.25 out of five stars. Amazon Logistics came second with three stars, followed by DPD and Evri, which both got 2.25.
Citizens Advice’s league table measured the companies’ performance based on customer service, delivery issues and how well they met accessibility needs.
The most common issues people faced with their last delivery included the driver leaving before they had time to get to the door (29%), their parcel being left in an insecure location (24%), and parcels arriving late (24%).
The charity pointed to regulator Ofcom introducing guidance on complaints and accessibility in 2023, but said its research showed many parcel firms were still “ignoring the rules”.
‘Tougher action needed’
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “We continue to see millions of people chasing lost parcels, having their accessibility needs ignored and hitting a brick wall when they try to complain.
“The question now is whether the regulator will take tougher action to improve the parcel market once and for all.”
In response, Ofcom said in a statement to Sky News: “We have a strong track record of holding parcel firms to account on behalf of the public.
“That has involved tracking people’s experiences of parcel deliveries for over a decade, and, as a result, introducing strengthened regulations on parcel firms in 2023.
“Under these rules, postal operators must have a simple and transparent complaints process in place, and have clear and effective policies and procedures for the fair treatment of disabled customers.
“While overall satisfaction is reasonably high at 78%, people’s experiences can vary depending on which parcel company delivers their package, and we’re continuing to press operators to make further improvements.
“We’ll also continue to work with Citizens Advice – as the statutory consumer advocate for post – to achieve our shared goal of ensuring consumers receive a reliable service, whichever company is used.”
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Accessibility found to be the worst performing area
Mike, in his 70s, has muscular dystrophy and relies on two walking sticks. He has asked delivery firms not to leave parcels at his front door as he struggles to get there in time.
He instead asks them to deliver to his back door, which is closer to his home office and easier for him to reach. But Citizens Advice says companies ignore his requests.
It results in parcels often being misdelivered or left exposed to the weather.
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“It makes you awfully frustrated, and it makes you really fed up, to the point that I’m beginning to stop buying from retailers that use certain delivery companies,” Mike said.
“I had one delivery agent chuck a parcel over the back gate on to the concrete floor, who said he’d handed it to the resident. I had the video showing him throwing it over the back gate then taking a picture saying he’d delivered it.”
What have the delivery companies said in response?
Amazon:
“Every day at Amazon, incredible employees and independent delivery partners come together to provide fast, reliable and safe delivery for our customers.
“The vast majority of deliveries make it to customers without issue. In the rare case something occurs, we work with customers directly to make it right.”
Royal Mail:
“We are pleased Royal Mail came first in the Citizens Advice parcels league table for the fourth year running.
“Since last year, we’ve made great strides in providing customers with the most convenient options for sending, returning and collecting parcels.
“Aside from delivering to every home in the UK, we offer the UK’s largest out-of-home network including shops, lockers and parcel post boxes, all introduced to ensure we’re the nearest and simplest choice for our customers.”
Evri:
“Every parcel matters, and it is great to receive independent recognition from Citizens Advice of the progress we are already making on service.
“This comes at a time when we have grown significantly in scale to deliver over 900 million parcels a year and follows sustained investments of £57m in operations and technology supporting service improvements over the past 12 months.
“That said, we have further improvements planned and know we have more to do.
“By listening to feedback and investing in the right tools, systems, and training, we have been able to make tangible improvements for our customers as we remain focused on building further trust and consistency across each delivery.
“We are also the only UK parcel carrier to commit to accessibility improvements and since we partnered with disability equality charity Scope in October 2024 improvements include enhanced doorstep and website delivery options, with 90,000 customers already setting accessibility preferences on their Evri account.”
Yodel and DPD did not respond to requests for comment from Sky News.
Citizens Advice said between August and September, Opinium Research conducted an online survey of 8,000 adults who received a parcel in the last month from Royal Mail, DPD, Yodel, Amazon Logistics or Evri.
The data was weighted to be nationally representative of those that had received a parcel from one of those five companies in the last month.
Two more teenagers who were in the care of Barnet Council have died since the death of 18-year-old Nonita Grabovskyte – prompting urgent questions over whether vital lessons were delayed.
Both were 18-year-old care leavers and died in December 2024 and January 2025 – just over a year after Nonita took her own life on 28 December 2023, the north London council said.
Their names have not yet been released while families are being informed, but confirmation of the deaths means three care-experienced young people connected to Barnet have now died in the space of 13 months.
It raises serious concerns about what the council learned from Nonita’s case and whether earlier action to publish and implement changes could have prevented further loss of life.
Nonita’s death – investigated in the Sky News documentary Unseen: A Girl Called Nonita – featured critical failings in the transition between children’s and adult services.
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The coroner later described an “absence of coordinated transition” during the most vulnerable moment in her life.
Despite that, Sky News has learned that a joint learning review into the deaths of Nonita and the second young person, known only as Young Person E, was completed in February.
But publication was delayed for almost a year, until after the conclusion of Nonita’s inquest in October.
The inquest process is under way for the most recent death – Young Person R – with a review expected to be launched, a council spokesperson said.
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The timing has led to growing scrutiny over whether lessons were identified on paper but not acted on quickly enough to protect others.
Oversight of learning reviews sits with the Barnet Safeguarding Children Partnership, which includes the police, NHS, and council.
Barnet Council says the delayed learning review into the deaths of Nonita and the second young person will finally be presented to the safeguarding partnership on 27 November, after which its findings will be published.
An inquest into the most recent death is scheduled for February.
We’ll learn lessons, says council leader
Council leader Barry Rawlings said: “We’re sorry for what happened. We do realise there have been some failures by different agencies, including the council.
“It shouldn’t happen, and we need to learn from that.
“It’s a complete tragedy, obviously you wish these things don’t happen. But as I said, the only thing we can do is to learn proper lessons from it. It’s happened. I can’t stop it.
“We’ll do we can to stop a similar thing happening again. That is the important thing. And that’s what my focus is on, the future.”
Read more: Council accused of ‘toxic culture of secrecy’
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Hundreds of young people who grew up in care have died in England since 2020, according to figures obtained by Sky News.
Sky News analysis found 91 care leavers aged 16 to 25 died in the past year alone – nearly two every week.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is currently in parliament, intended to improve children’s social care.
Campaigners have criticised the bill, saying it does not go far enough to prevent the deaths of young people in the system. But the government is resisting calls to make amendments.
Local authorities in England are now spending more than £14bn a year on children’s social care – that includes foster care, children’s homes, safeguarding, and support for care leavers.
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