UK Closes 11 Asylum Hotels in Cost-Cutting Move

The UK government has closed 11 hotels previously used to house asylum seekers, marking a key step in its plan to eliminate such accommodations by the end of the current Parliament in 2029. The closures, affecting sites across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, including the Britannia Hotel in Wolverhampton and the Holiday Inn in Heathrow, will save taxpayers nearly 65 million pounds annually, according to Home Office officials.

This latest round reduces the total number of asylum hotels to around 185, down from a peak of approximately 400 under the previous Conservative administration. Officials attribute the decline to accelerated asylum processing, increased removals of individuals with no legal right to remain, and a shift toward larger, more basic facilities. Since the Labour government's election in July 2024, nearly 60,000 people have been removed from the UK, the highest rate in almost a decade. Asylum seekers are now being relocated to sites such as the Crowborough military barracks in East Sussex, which opened three months ago and currently houses up to 350 individuals.

The use of hotels began as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,...