The Home Office has disclosed that it is currently spending £500,000 per day to maintain 5,000 empty hotel beds as a contingency for the unexpectedly high number of migrants crossing the Channel. Simon Ridley, the second permanent secretary at the Home Office, explained that these spare beds are necessary to accommodate sudden surges in migrants in order to prevent overcrowding at the main processing center in Manston near Dover. By having a buffer of 5,000 hotel beds, newly arrived migrants can be quickly relocated from Manston to avoid overwhelming the facility. Last year, the site experienced a peak of 4,000 migrants, exceeding its capacity by nearly 2,500 individuals, which violated legal limits.
Additionally, the Home Office is currently spending £6 million per day to house 51,000 asylum seekers in various types of accommodation, including hotels and hostels. Officials have noted that the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels is continuing to rise and has yet to reach its peak, with official forecasts indicating that more migrants are likely to cross the Channel this year compared to 2022.
Over the past three days, a total of 1,339 migrants have arrived in the UK via small boats, bringing the total number of Channel migrants this year to 12,772, a decrease of only four percent compared to the same period last year. Mr. Ridley stated that the highest number of arrivals traditionally occurs between July and September, thus it is entirely possible that this year’s figures will surpass the record total of 45,755 reached in 2022.
Furthermore, Mr. Ridley emphasized the unpredictability of arrivals, citing an instance this past weekend when more than 1,300 individuals arrived in just three days. Many of these migrants are being temporarily housed in buffer hotels throughout the country before being moved to more permanent accommodations. Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary of the Home Office, stated during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting that the department has not set a target date for ending the use of hotels due to numerous variables and factors that could impact the situation. However, efforts are being made to reduce the reliance on hotels as quickly as possible, given that they are not ideal accommodations for asylum seekers and are costly for taxpayers.
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