Asylum hotel closures may shift cost to councils, councillors warn
Local authorities may have to house migrants in the very same hotels the government has announced it will no longer use, councillors have warned.
The government plans to end contracts with 50 hotels housing asylum seekers by the end of the year.
Official figures show hiring these hotels cost the taxpayer ?8m a day.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC, the Local Government Association (LGA) said this cost may pass to councils, who are required to house refugees in need.
Shaun Davies, chairman of the LGA, said councils were legally obliged to find somewhere to stay for the large numbers of refugees representing as homeless after leaving hotel accommodation when their asylum application was processed.
"We've got a housing shortage, we've got a huge demand on temporary accommodation, and we've got councils in financial strain," Mr Davies, who is also a Labour councillor, said.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67212103