THE Home Office has reportedly issued an urgent appeal for 5,000 properties to house 20,000 migrants.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is already facing the humiliation of Labour councils revolting against his government’s loathed migrant hotel policy.
Jubilant protesters gather outside The Bell following the court victory
PAStarmer is facing the humiliation of Labour councils revolting against his government’s loathed migrant hotel policy[/caption]
GettyThe number of arrivals on small boats crossing the Channel has hit a new high[/caption]
Huge pressure from councils run by every political party could hasten the end of the controversial Home Office policy.
A total of 32,059 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of Labour’s first year in Government, up 8 per cent on the same point 12 months ago, Home Office data shows.
But authorities are poised to follow Epping Forest council in Essex after it won a High Court injunction to halt asylum accommodation.
Now, it has been revealed that asylum accommodation contractors working for the Home Office “reached out” to property specialists earlier this month, seeking 5,000 residential units, reports the Telegraph.
Insiders told the outlet that each flat would likely have two bedrooms on average, with space to house four migrants.
The move is part of Labour’s pledge to stop using hotels to house migrants by 2029,
However, nearly 200 hotels are still in use, putting up more than 32,000 people, according to recent figures.
That’s around the same level as last summer, following record Channel crossings this year.
So far in 2025, 27,997 migrants have made the trip on routes after paying smuggling gangs, forcing ministers to scramble for other housing options.
Officials are now urging councils to partner with them to buy, rent or lease properties – including empty homes – to cut reliance on hotels.
They’re also looking at disused tower blocks, former student halls and old teacher-training sites as potential medium-sized migrant hubs, according to the Telegraph.
The recent request reportedly asked for shorter-term leases of 90 days, with an option for an extra 30 days’ notice.
Labour-controlled Wirral and Tamworth confirmed on Tuesday that they are considering action against migrant hotels.
And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch issued a rallying cry to 33 Conservative councils while Reform and Lib Dem authorities are considering legal options.
Two dozen have already signalled that they would consider following suit which, if successful, could worsen the asylum accommodation crisis.
The moves came after the High Court on Tuesday granted Epping Forest district council in Essex a temporary injunction to stop asylum seekers from being housed in the The Bell Hotel from next month.
Mr Justice Eyre ruled the owners may have breached planning rules by housing migrants rather than paying customers.
Protests had erupted outside the three-star hotel in recent weeks after a resident was accused of trying to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had tried to block the Epping bid.
If more councils take action, ministers are unsure where more than 30,000 people in hotel rooms would live.
Meanwhile, the former RAF Wethersfield base in Essex continues to take in asylum seekers despite previous criticism.
The Home Office has raised the site’s cap from 800 to 1,225 – with locals told this week that 890 migrants are already on-site. Two busloads of 50 new arrivals are expected every week.
Wethersfield is now the only large-scale site kept open by Labour, even though Sir Keir Starmer said before the election it “needs to close”.
The Bibby Stockholm barge and RAF Scampton sites – both set up under the Tories – have since been scrapped by the new Government.
In her message to Tory councils, Ms Badenoch said: “The Epping Hotel injunction is a victory for local people led by a good Conservative council working hard for their community. This is the difference.
“I’m encouraging Conservative council leaders to take the same steps if your legal advice supports it.”
After the Epping victory, Tory-run Broxbourne was the first authority to declare “people have had enough” and it was seeking legal advice “as a matter of urgency about whether it could take a similar action” over a hotel in Cheshunt, Herts.
A Home Office spokesman said: “This Government has consistently said the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is neither sustainable nor suitable as a long-term approach.
“We remain committed to working with our partners to identify more suitable and cost-effective alternatives.”
Minister fails to confirm plans for re-housing migrants
SECURITY Minister Dan Jarvis failed to offer any alternative plans for re-housing migrants when pressed about the recent High Court ruling this morning.
Speaking on Times Radio, he admitted that “nobody really thinks hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers”.
However, when asked if there were contingencies in place for the 32,000 asylum seekers currently in hotels across Britain – in case more councils were to win the right to remove them from hotels – he could not state if a specific plan was in place.
Mr Jarvis said that the government was “looking at a range of different contingency options” but did not name any of the ideas being floated.
He added that officials were “looking very closely at the circumstances at The Bell Hotel”.
The latest Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March.
This was down 15 per cent from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6 per cent lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier.
New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June.
Figures for hotels published by the Home Office date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels.
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