A hotel company’s contract to provide accommodation for asylum seekers has been cancelled.
The Home Office said it would end its agreement with Stay Belvedere Hotels at the earliest opportunity, in September next year, after a review raised concerns about its performance and behaviour.
The department did not specify what those concerns were, but said in a statement that the safety and security of people staying and working in temporary accommodation was a government priority, as well as ensuring value for money.
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Stay Belvedere was awarded a contract in 2019 to house people waiting for asylum decisions, using 51 hotels across England and Wales.
It also houses asylum seekers in the Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, which is due to be handed back to the Ministry of Defence in September.
The company’s contract is worth around £2bn a year, and it is only being terminated in September next year because that is the earliest point at which the Home Office can exit it without payment of a break cost.
It is unclear where those currently being housed in Stay Belvedere properties will be moved to once the contract does end.
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What you need to know about spring statement
Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “Since July, we have improved contract management and added more oversight of our suppliers of asylum accommodation.
“We have made the decision to remove Stay Belvedere Hotels from the Home Office supply chain and will not hesitate to take further action to ensure Home Office contracts deliver for the UK.”
The Home Office said it was working to “put robust plans in place” to minimise disruption. Labour had promised to stop using hotels to house asylum seekers in their election manifesto – but the government has not provided a date by which that will be achieved.
The latest statistics from December 2024 show there were 38,079 asylum seekers being housed in hotels, down from the peak of 56,042 at the end of September 2023.
Last November, Dame Angela told parliament there were 220 hotels in use for asylum seekers.
It comes after it was reported that the government was considering sending failed asylum seekers, including those arriving on small boats, to overseas “migrant hubs”.
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Asylum seekers could be sent abroad
A Home Office source told political correspondent Amanda Akass that the government was in the “very early stages” of discussions around the idea.