Asylum hotels should be returned to communities, says MP

Shaun Davies made the comments when discussing the government's progress on tackling the backlog in asylum claims.

The Labour MP, who is also a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the influential panel will be launching an investigation into the use of hotels for asylum purposes.

Two major hotels in Telford & Wrekin have been used to house asylum seekers for some time.

Speaking to Radio 4's Nick Robinson, Mr Davies said progress is being made - but that government needs to get to a stage where 'communities get their hotels back'.

He said: "The early signs are very promising, we’re seeing more people being processed and let’s be very clear, the reason people are in hotels in the very first place is because the last Government stopped processing applications. People were being parked in hotels because of that delay.

"We’re also seeing more people being removed from the country than any time in the last six years.

“Clearly no one wants people to be in hotels because it’s bad for those individuals but also for the communities. I’ve got a hotel in my own constituency being used for this purpose… it’s about making sure the system works, that those communities get their hotels back.”

Mr Davies said the Government inherited 'a broken asylum system in absolute chaos'.

He said that the situation had tens of thousands stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed.

At the height of asylum hotel use there were 400 hotels in operation at a cost of almost £9 million a day.

The Telford MP also pointed to an "inherited huge overspend on asylum and immigration costs", saying that millions had been wasted on failed accommodation plans at Scampton and Bexhill.