No closure deal yet for asylum seeker hotel

NO deal has yet been reached on the closure of a Newcastle asylum seeker hotel, amid criticism that the Government has not set out a clear strategy for ending their use.

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local Democracy Reporter

There were protests and counter-protests outside the Newcastle hotel over the summer

Newcastle City Council has said repeatedly over recent months that it is in active talks with the Home Office over shutting a city centre hotel currently being used to house asylum seekers, which has been the subject of regular protests.

While Labour has promised to stop the use of such hotels across the country by 2029, a committee of MPs has this week warned that ministers are yet to deliver a clear strategy for how it will replace the "current failed, chaotic and expensive" system.

The Home Affairs Committee found that the Home Office had "squandered" taxpayer money, with the expected costs of accommodation contracts for 2019 to 2029 having spiralled from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, while adding that making promises of closures to "appeal to popular sentiment" without setting out a clear alternative risks "undermining public trust still further".