Thank you for contacting me about asylum seekers. We have been clear that the use of hotels is a temporary and short-term measure to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to accommodate destitute asylum seekers.
We have made significant progress in returning 150 hotels to communities across the UK as of the beginning of May. This means there are 20,000 fewer asylum seekers in hotels today than six months ago, down from over 56,000at the end of September 2023, a reduction of 36 per cent. This delivers on our plan to reduce our reliance on hotels to house asylum seekers. We have also made significant progress in maximising the number of bed spaces in the existing asylum estate and clearing the legacy backlog of applications, with around 100,000 cases processed, including over 74,000 substantive decisions.
In government, we negotiated with a range of accommodation providers to find the cheapest accommodation to ensure the greatest value for money and reduce reliance on hotels. Such accommodation relieves pressure on communities and manages asylum seekers in a more appropriate way, bringing the UK in line with the approach taken by other countries in Europe. The reduction in hotel use is just one part of the relentless action we have taken to reduce the strain illegal migration continues to place on British taxpayers.
Ultimately the best way to save money is by deterring people from coming to the UK illegally in the first place, and our partnership with Rwanda intends to do just that. Our action to crack down on criminals, deter migrants from making dangerous crossings and, alongside our French counterparts, intercept vessels, saw a reduction in small boat crossings by 36 per cent last year. We also continue to run campaigns to deter would-be migrants from beginning perilous journeys.