Asylum: Hotels

This Government has committed to closing every asylum hotel as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. Work is well under way, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities.

The safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers and local communities is of utmost importance. When a person claims asylum, we conduct mandatory identity and security checks. The biographic and biometric data are checked against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases including domestic and international data so we can establish whether the person is a threat to public safety. The asylum screening part of the process is based on an interview aimed at establishing: any vulnerabilities, any threat to the UK/UK interest, their journey to/history in the UK and the basis of their claim.

Home Office accommodation is non-detained, asylum seekers and are free to come and go from their accommodation. No one in the UK, including foreign nationals, asylum seekers or refugees, is above the law. Asylum seekers are clearly advised of the expectations the Home Office and accommodation providers have for them to behave responsibly while they are accommodated in Home Office properties and not to engage in any form of criminal or anti-social activity.