Committees

Can Government meet asylum accommodation challenges – lower costs, regional fairness and quality of support?

25 April 2025

The Home Affairs Committee continues its inquiry into asylum accommodation with an evidence session on Tuesday 29 April. The Committee will hear from representatives of local authorities and refugee support groups about the current state of the asylum accommodation system.

Asylum accommodation is unevenly distributed across the country. The North East and North West house over three times as many asylum seekers as the South East (excluding London) and South West in proportion to their populations. Asylum accommodation also tends to be concentrated in urban areas, with Glasgow City housing the most asylum seekers of any individual local authority.

The session will examine how the Home Office might achieve its plans for a more equitable distribution of accommodation across the UK and the barriers to be overcome. 

The session will also examine the quality of asylum accommodation provided under current contracts. With the use of hotels and large sites coming under criticism due to the high cost and poor quality of accommodation, the session will explore what is needed to provide good quality accommodation in the long-term whilst also dealing with short-term spikes in demand. 

The Committee will also consider how well asylum seekers are supported in asylum accommodation. This will include whether current mechanisms for identifying the specific needs of asylum seekers and any safeguarding issues are adequate and how general welfare needs are met under the current asylum accommodation contracts.

Witnesses

Panel 1 - from 2.30pm  

  • Alex Fraser, UK Director – Refugee Services and Restoring Family Links, British Red Cross 
  • Megan Smith, Solicitor, Deighton Pierce Glynn 
  • Enver Solomon, Chief Executive Officer, Refugee Council 

Panel 2 - from 3.30pm 

  • Natasha Beresford, Interim Strategic Director – Housing & Property Services, Dacorum Borough Council 
  • City Mayor Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester 
  • Cllr Peter Mason, Leader of the London Borough of Ealing, Board Member. Local Government Association 
  • Frances McMeeking, Assistant Chief Officer for Operational Care Services and Homelessness, Glasgow City Council

Further information