Asylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels to alternative accommodation could lose their housing and support under a new Home Office policy announced today, as the government seeks to tackle “non-compliance” amid mounting community tensions.
The “Failure to Travel” policy means asylum seekers must accept suitable alternative accommodation when offered or risk losing their housing, financial support and the £9 weekly allowance for basic necessities if they refuse “without a valid reason”, the Home Office confirmed.
Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said the government was working to “close hotels” and “restore order” to an asylum system she described as being “on the brink of collapse” when Labour took office.
“This Government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders,” Eagle said. These reforms to the Failure to Travel policy are another example of this Government’s action to transform the asylum accommodation system and crack down on those who abuse our system.
Policy Amid Rising Tensions
The announcement comes as Epping Forest District Council unanimously voted yesterday to urge the Home Office to immediately close The Bell Hotel, which has been housing asylum seekers, following a series of violent protests that have cost Essex Police over £100,000 to manage.
The unrest began on 13 July after a 38-year-old asylum seeker, Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, was charged with three counts of sexual assault following an incident where he allegedly attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charges.
Eight police officers were injured during protests on 17 July when what began as a peaceful demonstration escalated into what Essex Police described as “scattered incidents of violence”, with missiles thrown at officers and police vehicles damaged.
In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst called The Bell Hotel “unsuitable” for housing migrants and warned that “the presence of asylum seeker accommodation in this district is clearly creating community tension.
Financial Burden on Taxpayers
The policy change comes as the Home Office grapples with accommodation costs that have spiralled to approximately £5.5 million per day, housing more than 38,000 asylum seekers in hotels across the UK, with an additional 65,707 in lower-cost “dispersal accommodation” such as flats and shared housing.
According to Treasury documents from the Office for Value for Money, each asylum seeker now costs taxpayers over £41,000 annually – up sharply from £17,000 five years ago. The total cost of asylum accommodation is forecast to reach £15.3 billion between 2019 and 2029, triple the original £4.5 billion estimate.
The government claims that in the first three months of 2025, the number of asylum seekers in hotels fell by almost 6,000, a 15 per cent reduction since December, with the number of hotels halved to around 200.
Two Strikes Rule
Under the new policy, asylum seekers face a “two strikes” rule where they are offered two alternatives to move to before potentially having their hotel accommodation and support withdrawn. However, LBC understands this will not affect their asylum application, which will remain in the system.
The Home Office said the policy represents a “firm but fair approach” to managing accommodation whilst asylum claims are processed. Those who refuse moves will still have their asylum applications considered, but could lose access to accommodation and the £9 weekly subsistence allowance.
Council Demands Action
Epping Forest District Council leader Chris Whitbread condemned the use of The Bell Hotel from the outset, stating: “Placing vulnerable individuals from a wide range of cultural backgrounds into an unsupervised setting, in the centre of a small town, without the proper infrastructure, support or services, is both reckless and unacceptable.”
A petition organised by Whitbread calling for the closure of The Bell Hotel and the Phoenix Hotel in Bobbingworth has gathered more than 4,500 signatures, citing “deeply concerned about rising community tensions.”
In reference to the council vote, the Home Office said: “We’ll continue to work closely with local police and community partners, in Epping and across the country, as we fix this broken system.”
Government Response to Violence
Police are braced for further protests, with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood saying on Thursday she was “confident” the prison system was robust enough to cope if riots were to erupt again.
“I’m confident we’ve taken the decisions that mean that we will always be able to respond,” Mahmood said. “I’m not going to let us run out of prison places. Governments can’t predict the future but our job is to make sure that we are capable of responding in a way that the public would expect.”
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow of Essex Police warned that what had occurred in Epping “is not protest, it’s hooliganism and the people responsible for it can expect to be held accountable.”
The Home Office maintains it inherited “an asylum system on the brink of collapse – mismanaged, under strain, and costing the public a fortune” and says it is working to address the backlog of asylum claims whilst reducing reliance on expensive hotel accommodation.
As communities across Britain grapple with the presence of asylum seeker hotels and the government attempts to balance humanitarian obligations with public concerns, the new policy represents another attempt to bring order to a system that all parties agree requires fundamental reform.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
