Council boss says asylum hotels a drain on economy

Patrick Harley wants to mount a legal challenge against the Home Office to prevent asylum seekers being housed in Dudley hotels

A council leader has called asylum hotels "a drain on the local economy", saying the one asylum hotel in his borough was "still one hotel too many".

Dudley Council's Conservative leader, Patrick Harley, said he had instructed a legal team to see if he could mount a legal challenge against the Home Office to prevent asylum seekers being housed in Dudley hotels, following Great Yarmouth winning a similar injunction in 2023.

Harley made the comments after announcing he had stopped asylum seekers from being eligible for a scheme offering discounts on leisure facilities in the borough.

The Home Office said the number of asylum seekers in hotels fell by almost 6,000 in the first three months of 2025.

Harley said the fact only one hotel in Dudley was being used to house asylum seekers was due to "robust dealings with Serco and the Home Office".

The council leader claimed that there were nearly 4,000 asylum seekers placed in hotels across the West Midlands by Serco, but only 72 were in Dudley.

Serco is one of the three companies responsible for asylum accommodation in the UK.

'Failed Home Office'

"One hotel is too many because I do not want the hotels in the borough to be full of asylum seekers," Harley told the BBC.

"We have a thriving visitor economy where we need quality hotels full of visitors who want to spend at our visitor attractions.

"Instead, we have a failed Home Office ready and willing to fill them with people who have nothing to offer our visitor or wider economy."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Since taking office, this government has taken immediate action to fix the asylum system, closing hotels and returning more than 35,000 people with no legal right to remain in the UK.

"We will continue working closely with community partners across the country to discuss any concerns they raise as we work together to repair this broken system, with the security of local communities where hotels are located remaining our first priority."

A Home Office source added that the decision to house asylum seekers in a region was ultimately down to the hotel directors and not the Home Office or local councils.

Figures published last month showed the government spent nearly a third less on hotels to house asylum seekers between April 2024 and March 2025.

The Home Office's annual accounts show £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation - an average of about £5.77m per day, down from £3bn or £8.3m per day the previous year.

'Services are for residents'

Harley also addressed The Options+ Leisure Discount Scheme, set up in Dudley in 2004, which had been offering discounts to leisure facilities for a number of different groups, including asylum seekers.

According to the council leader, the scheme had helped 2,400 people over the last 21 years, including people on low incomes, registered carers, blue badge holders, students and veterans.

The scheme costs £12 a year for adults and £6 for under 16s, offering half price leisure activities at a number of facilities for people within certain concessionary groups.

"I became aware this week that asylum seekers had been added at some point and were eligible, although only six have ever taken advantage of the scheme," he said.

"Notwithstanding this, as soon as I became aware I made the decision as leader to remove it so asylum seekers can no longer gain access to this concession.

"I am of the opinion these services are for Dudley residents – many of whom have contributed to the funding of them through business rates or council tax."