Are asylum seekers really living in luxury hotels? – Q&A

Are asylum seekers living in luxury hotels, as the far right claims?

The quality of hotel accommodation varies. Most rooms are in budget hotels, which are being used during the pandemic because social distancing is not possible in accommodation the Home Office usually uses, especially those that have several beds or bunkbeds in one room.

Are asylum seekers being given £40 per week by the Home Office?

No, asylum seekers in hotels are given just £5 per week for essentials such as phone credit.

Does homing asylum seekers mean homeless veterans are forced to sleep on the streets?

As British citizens, homeless veterans are always eligible for state support and housing if they have no income. Pre-pandemic, many asylum seekers whose claims were refused were eligible for no support at all. It is only during the pandemic that they are receiving accommodation.

The Royal British Legion says there are no definitive statistics of former armed forces personnel sleeping on the streets but it estimates that numbers are small. A recent London snapshot of rough sleepers showed that around 2% were veterans.

Related: Far-right activists filmed hassling asylum seekers in hotels

Are asylum seekers refusing to work?

Home Office policy bans asylum seekers from working. Many NGOs are campaigning for this policy to be overturned. Asylum seekers want to work and be financially self-sufficient but they are barred from doing so.

Are asylum seekers spending years in these hotels?

Many asylum seekers in hotels have recently arrived, some on small boats. After a few days or weeks in temporary accommodation, they are arrested and detained with the intention of removing them on a charter flight if they are found to have passed through one or more European countries before arriving in the UK.

Are they illegal immigrants, and will Brexit ensure better control of our borders and laws?

It is not illegal to claim asylum. The government has a duty to consider asylum claims and to either accept or reject them. The 1951 refugee convention is the key piece of international law that governs asylum seekers and refugees. Leaving the EU will not end our adherence to this convention, which has been ratified by 145 states around the world. International law does not stipulate that asylum can only be claimed in the first safe country a refugee arrives in.