End broken asylum seeker hotel system, says leader
Newcastle City CouncilA council leader has backed government plans to stop housing asylum seekers in hotels.
It follows an announcement in the Chancellor's Spending Review to end the use of hotels by 2029, which Rachel Reeves says will save £1bn a year.
Newcastle City Council's Karen Kilgour said the local authority - which currently has no control over where asylum seekers are housed - had already had talks with the Home Office about potential solutions.
"I strongly oppose asylum seeker hotels in Newcastle, but I want the council to have a role – it must be on Newcastle's terms," she said.
The National Audit Office (NAO) predicted asylum housing costs would hit £15.3bn over the next decade - triple the amount budgeted by the Home Office.
Ministers say hotels will be phased out by cutting small boat crossings and building new government-owned accommodation for asylum seekers, but Conservatives have claimed the plans are "built on an assumption that the hotels magically empty themselves".
Accommodation in Newcastle includes a hotel in the city centre and Kilgour said the system needed to be reformed.
"Let's stop funding private hotels and look at a housing strategy that delivers more affordable and social housing options," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
There have also been serious concerns about living conditions inside hotels in the city.
An inquiry in 2023 claimed refugees had been left "isolated and vulnerable."
The council leader said she wanted the city to set an example to create a safer, more supportive environment for asylum seekers that could better integrate them into local communities.
"It's certainly not about leaving the door open for anyone and everyone," she said.
"It's about doing what's right for those genuinely seeking the help and new start they need."