Britain plans to overhaul asylum housing

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is proposing that asylum seekers should be moved out of the hotels in which many of them are currently housed, and has also put forward the idea of digital ID cards, in a bid to deal with the issue that has come to dominate domestic politics in the UK in recent times.

Since the UK's departure from the European Union, it has no way of returning migrants seeking entry to the country, as was previously the case, which has led to a surge in the number of people attempting highly dangerous crossings of the English Channel shipping lane from mainland Europe in small boats.

For reasons of practicality, hotels have been used to house people while their status is checked and their asylum applications are processed, during which time the majority of them are not permitted to work or earn money.

According to official government figures up to the end of June, there are currently more than 32,000 migrants in at least 200 hotels. But the mass depositing of people into accommodation around the country has caused tensions and protests in many areas, making the issue highly politically contentious, and putting pressure on the government to be seen to act.

The prime minister told a meeting of his Cabinet that it was "easy to understand the frustration people feel at the level of illegal crossings" and the use of hotels, and that "looking at better forms of accommodation" was one of the issues to be addressed.

In a radio interview, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper hinted that warehouses could be used as an alternative form of accommodation, but the main priority was reducing numbers.

"We actually need to have fewer people in the asylum system in the first place, fewer people needing accommodation — that has to be at the core of this," she said. "It's been allowed to expand in a way that is out of control."

Although she was reluctant to expand on a general suggestion of military and industrial sites as an alternative to hotels, when pushed by the interviewer, she said warehouses were "one of the things that's been looked at. But we will provide updates when we've got the plans".

Additionally, the Financial Times newspaper has reported that thousands of overseas students studying in the UK will soon be contacted by text or email, warning them of the potential dangers of overstaying their study visas.

The FT said around 130,000 students and their families will be sent a message saying: "If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused … if you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don't, we will remove you".

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com