Overview
- Multiple outlets report officials presented ministers with a £100‑a‑week payment for asylum seekers to leave hotels and stay with family or friends, on top of the existing £49.18 weekly support.
- Reports say participants would need to prove appropriate accommodation and continue regular Home Office reporting if the option were adopted.
- A separate voluntary returns offer of up to £3,000 is reportedly aimed at nationalities with low grant rates, including Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
- The Home Office said there are no plans for these payments and reiterated its commitment to closing all asylum hotels, with a wider asylum system overhaul slated to be set out later this month.
- About 32,000 people were in roughly 200 hotels by mid‑2025 at an average £145 per person per night, and charities warn the proposed £100 top‑up would not meet typical room rents and could heighten risks of homelessness and exploitation.