The Home Office also told us that it pays for around 5,000 empty hotel rooms as a ‘buffer’ in case it needs more space than exists at its initial holding facilities such as Manston, where many asylum seekers are first taken when they arrive in the UK.49 This buffer is on top of what it terms ‘ringfenced hotels’ which it can move people to “quickly as an overflow from Manston before they come into the more permanent estate”, although during our evidence session the Home Office did not set out ...

The Home Office also told us that it pays for around 5,000 empty hotel rooms as a ‘buffer’ in case it needs more space than exists at its initial holding facilities such as Manston, where many asylum seekers are first taken when they arrive in the UK.49 This buffer is on top of what it terms ‘ringfenced hotels’ which it can move people to “quickly as an overflow from Manston before they come into the more permanent estate”, although during our evidence session the Home Office did not set out how many beds it reserved in ringfenced hotels.50 The Home Office said that increasing dispersal 39 C&AG’s Report, paras 4, 1.8 40 PM Statement on illega Type: conclusion | Number: 17 | Response status: accepted Government response: 3.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 3.2 The Home Office has always been clear that the use of hotels as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers was a short-term measure to ensure that the department met its statutory obligation to acco