We recommend that the Home Office sets out plans for an asylum accommodation system that can flexibly respond to changing demand, whilst minimising potential costs to the taxpayer. In the short term, the Home Office should identify and implement any possible action it can take to direct and incentivise providers to identify alternative accommodation and exit hotels. The Home Office should also give urgent consideration to the practical implications of exercising the contractual break clauses,...

We recommend that the Home Office sets out plans for an asylum accommodation system that can flexibly respond to changing demand, whilst minimising potential costs to the taxpayer. In the short term, the Home Office should identify and implement any possible action it can take to direct and incentivise providers to identify alternative accommodation and exit hotels. The Home Office should also give urgent consideration to the practical implications of exercising the contractual break clauses, that become exercisable from March 2026. The Home Office should ensure that the design of future contracts from 2029 onwards is sufficiently flexible to Type: recommendation | Number: 2 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: The Home Office recognises the critical importance of robust contract management in ensuring value for money and operational effectiveness of its accommodation suppliers. To ensure this remains a core function, we have taken a series of steps to strength