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Home Office hotel bookings pose problem for rough sleeper support, London boroughs claim
Block booking of hotel rooms by the Home Office to house asylum seekers is proving a problem for London boroughs’ rough sleeper support work, councils have claimed.
A report by London Councils has highlighted the government’s asylum policy as one of several causes of shortages in available temporary accommodation in the capital.
Boroughs reported shortages of emergency hotel and B&B spaces over the winter, when more than 2,000 off-the-street placements for rough sleepers were provided during sub-zero temperatures.
Councils said they repeatedly had to make placements in hotels, hostels and emergency shelters out of their borough. Inside Housing understands that some placements during December were made as far as Luton and Thurrock in Essex.
The increase in distances between locations of rough sleepers and the bed allocated to them made it less likely that rough sleepers would accept an offer.
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The report said: “Local authorities in London are having to respond to rising statutory homelessness numbers in their areas, as well as experiencing shortages in available temporary accommodation linked to the Home Office block booking hotels and other forms of accommodation for asylum seekers.”
It also pointed out that tourists returned to London in much larger numbers this year than previous winters during the pandemic.
London boroughs activated severe weather rough sleeping measures six times between December 2022 and March 2023. During the first December activation, 949 people were accommodated and 310 were kept in accommodation when the protocol ended.
In January, a further 680 people were accommodated and 311 were kept in accommodation when the measures ended. A further 348 people were accommodated by the Greater London Authority during the period.
Six local authorities reported having to resort to offering rest centres, similar to temporary disaster relief services, due to the shortage of bookable and temporary accommodation.
Kingston Council’s Guildhall was used to house rough sleepers overnight.
The Home Office said it is working to streamline its asylum process and clear the backlog of asylum seekers.
A spokesperson told Inside Housing: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.
“We have been clear that the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels, costing the UK taxpayer £6m a day.
“The Home Office is committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer.”
Darren Rodwell, executive member for regeneration, housing and planning at London Councils, said: “This winter was extremely challenging, but climate change means we must prepare for these pressures to become ‘business as usual’.
“It is more important than ever to make sure frontline services have the resources they need, especially if we are to help rough sleepers brought inside during severe weather to stay off the streets for good.”
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