Asylum hotels will house Channel migrants 'for years to come' despite Keir Starmer's vow to end their use - as Labour eyes sending failed applicants to the Balkans
Migrants will continue to be housed in asylum hotels and other temporary accommodation for years to come, the Treasury has admitted.
Before winning power at last July's general election, Labour vowed to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers.
But an ongoing review of Government spending has acknowledged that 'demand for short-term residential accommodation... is likely to remain over the coming years'.
A Treasury document revealed how a study is looking at ways to improve the procurement of short-term accommodation by the Government and local councils.
It is being undertaken by officials from Chancellor Rachel Reeves' new Office for Value for Money, as well as from the Home Office and other Whitehall departments.
The document noted how the Home Office spent £2.3billion on hotels as part of asylum support in 2022-23.
It pointed to 'pressures on housing supply' and 'risks presented by global instability' as reasons for the continued demand for asylum seekers to be put up in hotels.
Labour is under fresh scrutiny after the number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel set a new record for the first three months of the year.
As part of his efforts to reduce the number of crossings, it has recently emerged how PM Sir Keir Starmer could consider sending failed asylum seekers to overseas 'return hubs' in the Balkans.
An inflatable dinghy is pictured carrying a group of people across the English Channel
Before winning power at last July's general election, Sir Keir Starmer vowed to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers
A total of 241 people crossed the Channel in four boats on Saturday, according to the latest figures from the Home Office.
According to an analysis of the Government figures, this brought the total this year - up to March 22 - to 5,512.
This compares to 4,306 by the same date in 2024 and 3,683 in 2023; while in 2022, 3,836 had crossed by March 22.
The highest number arriving in one day this year so far stands at 592 people, who crossed the Channel in 11 boats on March 2.
The Treasury document outlined an audit of Government spending on short-term residential accommodation, including for asylum seekers.
It highlighted how a report last year by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that per asylum seeker costs had increased by 141 per cent from £17,000 in 2019-20 to £41,000 in 2023-24.
'Private sector suppliers of short-term residential accommodation have made record profits in recent years, leading to accusations of profiteering,' the document added.
'There is also evidence that some forms of short-term residential accommodation have a detrimental impact on children and families.'
The Treasury found there was a 'value for money case for improving the procurement of short-term residential accommodation across central and local government'.
A Government source accused firms of exploiting the small boats crisis for profit.
They told The Times: 'Following the Covid pandemic, the last government bolted on hotel supply to the old contracts which were not designed for this purpose, and which have allowed the three major providers to rack up massive profits working within contracts not designed to manage that level of spend.'
The source said that in the longer term, the Government was considering how to replace these contracts with 'proper long-term arrangements with a much closer focus on managing spend and performance'.
Meanwhile, Downing Street this morning did not rule out sending failed asylum seekers to the Balkans.
It was recently revealed how Home Office officials have discussed proposals to set up overseas 'return hubs' to house asylum seekers who have had their claims rejected and all appeals exhausted.
The proposals are set to involve payments to host countries for each person removed from the UK.
It follows moves by the European Commission to endorse the use of 'return hubs' by EU member states.
A Government spokesman said: 'The cost to the taxpayer for short-term residential accommodation has skyrocketed, after the Government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, with thousands stuck in a backlog without their claims processed.
'We are absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels, and since coming into Government have taken immediate action to restart asylum processing to begin closing hotels, have surged the number of returns, removing more than 19,000 people with no right to be in the UK, and established the Border Security Command to dismantle the gangs driving this trade.
'The Office of Value for Money will work with departments, local government and the private sector to tackle these problems, ensuring a more strategic, co-ordinated approach that delivers better value for the taxpayer.'
