The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels has risen by 13% in three months, new figures show.

There were 36,273 people staying in such accommodation at the end of September, while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims.

The issue has come to the fore in recent times with protests outside hotels.

Last month, the Government announced that two barracks in Scotland and southern England would be used to house around 900 men temporarily, as part of Government efforts to stop using hotels to temporarily house asylum seekers.

Labour has pledged to no longer be using asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament – which would be 2029, if not earlier.

But the latest data from the Home Office showed an increase, from 32,041 at the end of June to 36,273

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