Number of councils housing migrants set to rise even higher to new record - 'disgrace'

More than 90% of councils will be housing asylum seekers by the end of this year, the Sunday Express can reveal. Unemployed male migrants will be living "at taxpayers' expense in communities across the country", critics warned, as Home Office documents detailed how many could be moved into each region.

Another 40,000 people are set to be given taxpayer-funded homes in London, the East of England, South East England, and South West England as ministers ramp up efforts to close migrant hotels. In total, the Home Office needs to find dispersal accommodation for more than 66,000 asylum seekers. And current plans only allow for enough space for another 46,640, creating a shortfall of almost 20,000. The Home Office is exploring the use of military bases and abandoned properties to prevent hotels being taken over.

But the number of cash-strapped local authorities housing asylum seekers has increased from 82% in the Summer and is projected to hit 92% "by the year's end".

Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly told the Sunday Express: "Labour promised to end the illegal migration crisis. Instead, nearly every council is being forced to host asylum seekers.

"That means more young unemployed men housed at taxpayers' expense in communities across the country.

"Keir Starmer and his Government lack the backbone to solve this problem. They have no idea how to stop the boats - as we've seen their farcical 'one in, one out, one back in again' returns deal - and local residents are forced to suffer the consequences.

"What's more, this all means greater pressures on social housing at a time when many British nationals are struggling to find affordable accommodation."

Service User Demand Plans drawn up by the Home Office set out how many migrants can be housed in each region.

Some 13,486 people are supposed to living in dispersal accommodation - houses, flats and bedsits - in North West England.

But Home Office records show 17,218 are living in taxpayer-funded homes in towns and cities across the region and officials still need to find homes for 1,809 people.

By contrast, asylum accommodation providers are hunting for space for 12,032 migrants in South-east England. But 3,118 are already living there and the plan only allows for 14,092.

Another 12,206 need to be accommodated in London, the document sent to the Home Affairs Select Committee revealed.

Dispersal accommodation costs £23.25 per person per night, according to Home Office documents seen by the Sunday Express. Hotels cost a staggering £144.98 per person per night. Accommodation at the former military base in Wethersfield, Essex, costs £132 per person per night.

Five of the 12 regions are yet to hit 50% of their targets on moving people into dispersal accommodation.

Yet the Home Office is so overwhelmed nationally that it is facing a shortfall of almost 20,000 beds for asylum seekers.

The Service User Demand Plans allocated 114,791 spaces for asylum seekers across the country.

Some 68,151 have already been housed, with another 66,021 waiting for accommodation. The North East of England and the North West have both surged past their targets, but need to find additional homes for 2,000 people between them.

The West Midlands will almost certainly soar over its planned amount, with 10,944 supposed to be housed in the region. But 9,086 are already living there and 4,930 more are waiting in the wings.

Border security and asylum minister Alex Norris said in a letter to MPs: "The plans consider a range of factors, such as the availability of housing, the presence of other supported Home Office cohorts, the capacity of the local authority to meet user needs (e.g GP availability) as well as broader social considerations like homelessness and social cohesion.

"As of July 1, 82% (297) of local authorities and districts are accommodating service users. Among the 64 that do not currently provide accommodation, a further 36 LAs are projected to have estate by the year's end, increasing national coverage to 92%."

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp: "It's a national disgrace that the Government is actively planning to have asylum-claiming illegal immigrants housed across almost the entire country.

"This weak Government has lost control of our borders, and now almost every community is going to have to pay the price.

"We need to urgently repeal the ECHR, which will enable us to deport all illegal arrivals within a week - either back to their country of origin or to a safe place like Rwanda.

"Then the boat crossings would stop and we would not have this asylum crisis with illegal immigrants being put up in hotels we pay for.

"But this Labour Government is too weak to take the action necessary. And now we're all being affected."

Reform UK's Lee Anderson added: "It's an absolute betrayal of every hardworking family that communities up and down the country are being transformed against their will, saddling them with the bill in the process.

"Reform is the only party offering credible solutions to the illegal migration crisis. We will leave the ECHR, stop the boats and detain and deport those who illegally enter into our country."

It comes after the Express revealed entire streets and flat blocks are being procured for asylum accommodation.

Communities in Thanet, Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone have all been hit hard by this practice, the Express has been told.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Government is furious about the number of illegal migrants in this country and in hotels.

"That is why we will close every single asylum hotel - saving the taxpayer billions of pounds.

"We have already taken action - cutting the number of hotels in half and exploring the use of military bases and disused properties."