Number of asylum hotels will be down by end of March, says minister
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The number of hotels used to house asylum seekers will be lower by the end of March, a Home Office minister told the Commons. Nine hotels are scheduled to close in March as part of the the Government’s commitment to reducing hotel use, Dame Angela Eagle said.
During Home Office questions, she told MPs: “The Government is committed to reducing hotel use through reform of the asylum system, including streamlining asylum processing and establishing the Border Security Command to tackle people-smuggling gangs at source.
“Since the general election there’s been a net increase of six hotels in use; however nine are scheduled for closure by the end of March.”. Conservative MP Sir Ashley Fox pressed the minister on when the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels will be lower than it was prior to the general election.
The MP for Bridgwater said: “The Government’s new policy of smashing the gangs has enabled them to close seven asylum hotels, but unfortunately they’ve had to open another 14. Could the minister tell us when the number of asylum seekers in hotel accommodation will be lower than when she took office?”.
Dame Angela said the issue “can’t be solved overnight” because of the “size of the backlog we inherited from the party opposite”. She added: “We are working very, very hard to close hotels. “I just gave (Sir Ashley) the figures, it will be down. Nine more scheduled to close by the end of March, and there’s been a net increase of six, so by the end of March there will be fewer.”.
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