The number of hotels used to house asylum seekers in the UK has fallen to 185 after the government closed 11 facilities, marking the latest phase in a policy shift away from commercial accommodation.

The Home Office confirmed the reduction on Tuesday, stating that the decline reflects an accelerated effort to move asylum applicants into alternative sites including military barracks and purpose-built facilities. The change comes amid sustained political pressure to reduce the £6 million daily cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.

Transition to Alternative Sites

According to government officials, the closure of hotel contracts has been facilitated by increased capacity at military installations and other non-commercial properties. The strategy represents a continuation of policies first introduced in 2022, when the government began housing asylum seekers in former military barracks amid backlash over hotel costs.

As reported by BBC News, the Home Office has not disclosed which specific hotels have been released from contracts or the total number of asylum seekers affected by the relocations. The department also did not provide a timeline for further reductions in hotel use.

The shift toward barracks and alternative sites has previously drawn criticism from refugee advocacy groups, who have raised concerns about living conditions and access to legal services in more remote locations. Military sites converted for asylum accommodation have faced particular scrutiny over facility standards and isolation from support networks.

Cost Pressures and Policy Context

The use of hotels to house asylum seekers became a contentious political issue as accommodation costs soared alongside record numbers of Channel crossings. At the peak of hotel use in 2023, the government was operating more than 400 such facilities across the country, with daily costs reportedly exceeding £8 million.

The current figure of 185 hotels represents a significant reduction from those peak levels, though it remains substantially higher than pre-2020 numbers. Government ministers have repeatedly pledged to eliminate hotel use entirely, though no firm deadline has been set for achieving that goal.

The reduction in hotel numbers comes as overall asylum application processing times have shown modest improvement following the expansion of caseworker teams. However, the backlog of pending cases still exceeds 90,000, according to the most recent Home Office statistics.

Questions Over Long-Term Strategy

While the government has framed the hotel closures as progress toward more cost-effective accommodation, questions remain about the sustainability and appropriateness of alternative sites. Military barracks were originally designed for short-term occupancy by trained personnel, not families or vulnerable individuals potentially awaiting asylum decisions for months or years.

Previous inspections of barracks-based asylum accommodation have identified issues including inadequate heating, poor access to healthcare, and limited educational facilities for children. The government has committed to improving conditions at alternative sites, though independent monitoring reports have shown mixed results.

The Home Office has also explored other accommodation models, including large-scale processing centers and partnerships with local authorities to secure more dispersed housing. The effectiveness of these approaches in reducing both costs and processing times remains under evaluation.

As the government continues to adjust its asylum accommodation strategy, the balance between cost reduction, processing efficiency, and humane treatment standards will likely remain a central point of debate in UK immigration policy.