Hotel closes to asylum seekers as numbers accommodated in city drops by a quarter

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has welcomed the news that a hotel is no longer accommodating asylum seekers.

The news comes as new figures show the number of asylum seekers living in the city dropped from more than 1,300 to just over 1,000 in the last year – a reduction of around 25 per cent and the council continues to press for a fairer distribution of asylum seekers across all local authorities.

The Government contract for the Best Western Quality Hotel on Trinity Street, Hanley, was terminated following a review of its current asylum accommodation capacity across the county.

Serco, who are commissioned by the Home Office to provide accommodation for people seeking asylum, have now relocated the vast majority of people living at the hotel to places outside the city in other areas of the UK.

The review and subsequent closure of the Best Western Hotel is in line with the government’s priority to end the use of asylum hotels entirely. It follows consistent lobbying from the council that hotels in the city were not a suitable location for asylum seekers and comes after the closure of the North Staffordshire hotel, in Stoke, for this purpose in January 2024.

The Home Office has now announced it plans to move to a more appropriate and sustainable form of accommodation that delivers better value for taxpayers and restores control and confidence for local communities.

The Best Western Quality Hotel has been accommodating people seeking asylum since November 2022. At its height 280 people were housed there.

In September 2023, the Home Office agreed to pause using additional properties in Stoke-on-Trent for asylum seekers in recognition of the fact that the city had already accommodated its fair share of households.

Councillor Duncan Walker, cabinet member for safe and resilient communities and housing at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "We have always been - and always will be - a welcoming and friendly city. When it comes to supporting vulnerable people like asylum seekers we will always stand by to do our bit.

“But in recent years the numbers have been above capacity so it is important these figures were reduced so that we can manage our resource, ensure community cohesion and do what is best for the people of Stoke-on-Trent."