Asylum: Housing
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Asylum handouts and accommodation removed for illegal migrants abusing Britain’s generosity, published on 5 March 2026, what guidance will be issued to accommodation providers and local authorities regarding the removal of asylum accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris
The Government is developing a new framework for asylum support, including replacing the statutory duty to support with a discretionary power and making compliance with conditions, including not working illegally, a requirement of support. These measures, announced on 5 March, are intended to reduce misuse of support, not to make people homeless or deny support to those who genuinely need it and have no alternative means of supporting themselves.
Policies are still being developed, and we have not made final estimates of the number of people who may lose asylum support or accommodation, the savings to the public purse, or the full impact on local authority homelessness services. However, an impact assessment will be published in due course and the Home Office continues to engage with MHCLG and other stakeholders to understand and mitigate any potential homelessness impacts.
Asylum support will be targeted at those who are genuinely destitute and actively engaging with the asylum system. Decisions to withdraw support will be made on a case‑by‑case basis, with mitigating circumstances and vulnerabilities, including the needs of families with children, carefully considered. Individuals will be notified through established decision‑making processes, and clear guidance will be issued ahead of any changes.
Where it comes to light that a claim for support has been made fraudulently, action will be taken to recover the support that has been paid.
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