Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has brought in new rules preventing asylum seekers from being placed in newly built homes or in properties located close to schools and nurseries.
The policy follows public anger over plans to move more than 80 asylum seekers into £250,000 new-build houses on a housing estate in Stoke Heath, Shropshire.
Despite the new restrictions, the Stoke Heath proposal had already been approved before the guidance was introduced, meaning the development will still go ahead. The estate has set aside 21 homes for asylum-seeking families.
Conservative MP Mark Pritchard strongly criticised the plans, calling them “completely inappropriate.”
He said Stoke Heath is a remote rural area with limited public services and argued the location is unsuitable for a project of this scale. He added that he would continue opposing the plans.
Shropshire Council has also formally objected, writing to the Home Secretary to express serious concerns about the site and awaiting a response before deciding on further action.
The tougher stance on housing asylum seekers near schools and nurseries comes as sexual offence convictions involving foreign nationals have risen sharply. Figures from the Ministry of Justice published last year showed convictions increased by 62 per cent over four years.
According to the data, foreign nationals were involved in 14.1 per cent of sexual offence convictions, including rape, while making up roughly 11 per cent of the population, based on figures from the Migration Observatory.
The Government says it has made major progress in reducing the use of asylum hotels. By March, 20,885 asylum seekers were staying in hotels, down 30 per cent in three months.
Another 72,768 asylum seekers were being housed in other forms of accommodation, including shared housing and former military sites.
Home Office Minister Alex Norris told MPs that another 20 asylum hotels had closed, bringing the total down to 170 from a peak of around 400.
Ms Mahmood has promised to phase out asylum hotels before the next general election by moving people into dispersed housing and former military bases.
The asylum decision backlog has also fallen. By the end of March, 48,758 people were waiting for an initial decision on their claim — down 55 per cent from a year earlier and the lowest level since September 2019.
However, more than 100,000 failed asylum seekers appealing rejected claims can still receive taxpayer-funded accommodation while their cases are reviewed.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the Government’s approach, saying illegal migrants should not be housed in brand-new homes that many local young people cannot afford.
A Home Office spokesman said new-build homes should never be used for asylum accommodation and insisted new safeguards would prevent developments like Stoke Heath from happening again.
