Thousands of small boat migrants set to be crammed into homes alongside social housing tenants

Council leaders are considering plans that could see thousands of small boat migrants housed alongside social housing tenants as part of a major expansion of asylum accommodation across Britain.

Around 10,000 asylum seekers are expected to move into residential properties across London, the South East and Wales under the proposals, with some developments set to be shared between migrants and local authority tenants.

The plans emerged during a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing, where Clearspring Ready Homes, one of the Government's largest asylum accommodation providers, confirmed it is in talks with two councils over mixed-use housing schemes.

The company said the sites had originally been earmarked for social housing but were considered too large to be used solely for that purpose.

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Under the proposals, the developments would be split between asylum seekers and so-called "move-on" accommodation for migrants who have been granted permission to remain in the UK.

Chris Lakey, chief executive of Clearspring Ready Homes, told MPs the firm's priority was moving asylum seekers out of hotels and into dispersal accommodation.

"Our main thrust has always been to come away from hotels and to try to get back to our core business, which, as you quite rightly identified, is dispersal accommodation," he said.

Mr Lakey revealed the company had submitted proposals for 10,000 additional bed spaces to the Home Office, with around half already prepared for use.

"They are proposed, ready to go, and waiting to be turned live," he said.

Discussing the mixed-use developments, he added: "We are working with two local authorities at the moment that have sites that they are hoping to use for social housing, but they are too big for that."

Around 2,500 asylum seekers are expected to move into new properties in the coming weeks.

More than 68,700 asylum seekers are already living in dispersal accommodation across Britain, including houses, flats, bedsits and houses in multiple occupation.

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The committee also heard concerns over the cost of the accommodation.

At the Crowborough site, housing around 350 asylum seekers costs £160 per person per night - £16 more than the average hotel room.

Home Office minister Alex Norris said those costs were expected to fall to around £135 per night by the end of the year, making the site cheaper than hotel accommodation.

"The commitment we have made and our belief is that these types of sites should tread as lightly as possible on the local community's lives," Mr Norris told MPs.

He added that the expansion of dispersal accommodation would help reduce reliance on hotels.

Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham criticised what he described as "HMO Britain", arguing the Home Office needed to rethink how it procured asylum accommodation.

"I heard on so many doorsteps people's concerns about the unfairness of the immigration system, that cut price approach to procurement that means areas like this can end up like HMO Britain," he said.

Labour MP Chris Murray also questioned why billions of pounds were being paid to private contractors rather than councils and housing associations.

"Why would we give that £15 billion to a private company and not a council or a housing association if they were able to provide that?" he asked.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged to end the use of migrant hotels before the next election.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "We do not recognise these figures. We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation including ex-military sites.

"This is an important step in ending the perception you can arrive in the UK illegally and be put up in a hotel.

"We have already seen results. The population of asylum seekers in hotels has fallen by 35 per cent in the last year and by 63 per cent from the peak under the previous Government.

"Overall asylum costs have already fallen by nearly £1billion since this Government was elected."

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