Ending Asylum Hotels For Immigrants Will Save Taxpayers Rs 10,600 Crore: UK Government

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has announced that the UK government will stop using hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of the current parliament in 2029. The statement came as part of her comprehensive spending review, outlining how public funds will be allocated through the rest of the decade. The move is aimed at reducing costs and addressing growing concerns around the long-term use of temporary accommodations.

She said, "Funding that I have provided today, including from the transformation fund, will cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return people who have no right to be here, saving the taxpayer 1 billion pounds a year."

According to Home Office data, housing asylum seekers in hotels costs UK taxpayers over 8 million pounds (approximately Rs 85 crore) per day while they await decisions on their cases. As part of her first spending review since becoming Chancellor, Rachel Reeves pledged an additional 280 million pounds (around Rs 2,975 crore) annually by 2028-29 to strengthen the newly formed Border Security Command. Her review outlines departmental budgets up to 2030, signalling clear priorities for the government.

According to a Metro news report, ending the use of asylum hotels by 2029 is expected to save taxpayers 1 billion pounds - approximately Rs 10,600 crore.

A few days ago, a BBC report highlighted that the British government is struggling to reduce the amount of foreign aid spent on hotel accommodations for asylum seekers in the UK. A significant portion of this funding goes toward housing thousands of recently arrived asylum seekers.

The Home Office stated it is committed to ending the use of asylum hotels and is accelerating the asylum decision process to reduce the burden on taxpayers. According to the latest Home Office data, around 32,000 asylum seekers are currently being housed in hotels across the UK.