UK’s asylum hotel bill down 30%, government says

The government spent nearly a third less on hotels to house asylum seekers between April 2024 and March 2025, according to newly published figures.

The Home Office’s annual accounts show £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation – an average of about £5.77m per day, down from £3bn or £8.3m per day, the previous year.

Data obtained by BBC Verify shows the saving has been driven by a reduction in the average nightly cost per person housed, after a government move to use cheaper forms of accommodation and room sharing.

But Dr Peter Walsh, from the Migration Observatory think tank at Oxford University, warned that the surge in small boat crossings seen since March could lead to a renewed reliance on hotels.

“I don’t…