Putting up migrants in hotels to cost taxpayer £70m

HOUSING migrants in hotels is set to cost the taxpayer up to £70 million this year, Priti Patel has admitted.

The Home Secretary has told the home affairs select committee that the Home Office expects to spend at least £40 million and up to £70 million in the current financial year on hotels for migrants.

Some hotels have been block booked until January next year despite a pledge earlier this year to end the practice.

It comes amid a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Channel since the start of the year. In just two days last week, a record of nearly 1,000 migrants reached Britain, taking the total past 10,500 for this year. In the whole of last year, 8,417 migrants arrived.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “Four-star hotels for asylum seekers, including those crossing the Channel illegally, is a five-star absurdity.”

A government source said: “Priti hates using hotels. She’s made that very clear to officials. That’s why her Nationality and Borders Bill sets out her plans to end our reliance on hotels by using purpose built reception centres which can provide simple but safe accommodation for children.”

Official figures show there were about 8,700 migrants accommodated in nearly 90 different hotels across the UK in February, compared with 1,200 in March last year.

The pandemic has partly contributed to the surge in the use of hotels after the Home Office and its contractors Serco, Mears and Clearsprings paused the movement of asylum seekers from existing properties.

The Government is legally obliged to house migrants despite more than 80 per cent subsequently seeing their asylum claims rejected.

The total asylum budget has doubled in six years to nearly £1 billion in 2019/20.