Councils ‘keen’ to help Home Office move asylum seekers out of hotels

Authorities in England and Wales say they want to help house refugees, amid concern about local tensions

Councils across England and Wales have said they are keen to help accommodate asylum seekers as the government attempts to move as many as possible out of hotels, in part to try to ease community tensions.

Angela Rayner's housing and communities department is in talks with the Home Office about the possibility of exercising a 2026 break clause in contracts with three private companies that provide hotels for those waiting for asylum claims to be processed.