This is what the Government say about housing asylum seekers in Lancashire hotels

South Ribble MP Paul Foster raised the issue of when the Leyland Hotel would reopen, having been closed for three years while it holds asylum seekers.

Blackpool South’s Labour MP Chris Webb also took part in the debate, as the Metropole Hotel has been used by asylum seekers since September 2021 - despite the previous Tory administration claiming it would only be used for three months.

Mr Foster told Parliament: “There’s a chronic under-supply of hotels in South Ribble, in Chorley, in Preston and Central Lancashire. Can ministers give an indication of when it will cease to be used as an asylum hotel? I’m asked this question every single week.”

The reponse

Dame Angela replied: “I want to get out of hotels as quickly as is feasible. I’m not going to name particular dates, because that is a pointless thing to do. The thing is that we’ve got to get through the appeals system, and the first asylum processing system so that we can move people through the system much more quickly.

“We also need to continue our work on returns. We’ve ramped those up so that there’s been a huge increase in people returned. The highest figures for the last five years, and we intend to continue with that process.”

The figures

More than 38,079 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of December 2024, according to the latest data from the Home Office. This was up 2,428 from 35,651 at the end of September, although below the recent peak of 56,042 at the end of September 2023.

The Government earlier this month said 216 hotels were in use and seven are due to close by the end of April 2025. More than 400 hotels were in use at one stage under the previous government, which was said to cost almost £9 million per day.

Dame Angela also failed to rule out introducing an offshore processing scheme for failed asylum seekers, amid reports the Government is considering a plan to send people to the Balkans.

Blackpool

Mr Webb added: “We need to close these hotels as soon as possible and give prime real estate, especially in coastal communities like Blackpool, their hotels back to help their tourism industry thrive.”

Labour MP Luke Myer criticised the Conservatives’ record on asylum and said his Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituents “cannot accept is how it is fair that taxpayers’ continue to be expected to pay £9 million a day” on asylum hotels.

Mr Myer added: “It was a mark of shame for the previous government, it may become one for us unless it is resolved.”

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp earlier said: “The use of asylum hotels has gone up in fact by 8,000 since the general election. Hasn’t gone down, it’s gone up. 38,000 mainly illegal immigrants, are now in those hotels, costing hard-working taxpayers around £2 billion a year.

“It is completely unacceptable that taxpayers are asked to foot a bill this size. The people living in those hotels broke our laws by coming here from France. France is a manifestly safe country. Nobody needs to leave France.”

He added: “Since the first of January, more people have crossed the English Channel illegally than any year in history. This is the worst year. It is 38% worse than the previous worst year. So things are getting worse, not better. They haven’t smashed the gangs. They have capitulated to them.”

Dame Angela replied: “I’m not going to take any lessons from a minister who, in his last three months as immigration minister, saw nearly 10,000 people cross the Channel in small boats, and is complaining at half of that level that has happened in the last three months.”