United Kingdom: Public Accounts Committee report on asylum accommodation and HMP Northeye (2025)
- Parliament
- House of Commons, United Kingdom 1
- Committee
- Committee of Public Accounts 1
- Report
- Asylum accommodation: Home Office acquisition of former HMP Northeye, Seventh Report of Session 2024-25, HC 361 1,2
- Agreed and published
- Formal minutes agreed 27 January 2025. Published 5 February 2025 1
- Inquiry dates
- 31 October 2024 to 3 April 2025, per the Parliament record 3
- Government response
- Treasury Minutes CP 1306, dated April 2025 2. Listed by Parliament as published on 6 May 2025 3
- Outcome status
- 1a, 1b, 2, 4 and 5 implemented, 6 implemented and ongoing, and 3 pending, per CP 1306 2. Later status: no public record found as of 22 October 2026
What the committee said
The report says the Home Office spent £4.7 billion in 2023-24 supporting destitute asylum seekers, of which £3.1 billion went on hotels 1. It says the Home Office paid £15.4 million for the Northeye site, agreed to pay the vendors more than double their price from less than a year earlier, and expected 1,400 bed spaces that the site did not provide 1.
The committee's first conclusion reads: "The Home Office rushed to spend public money in trying to reduce the cost of supporting asylum seekers" and has little to show for it 1. The report gives about £60 million spent on the Scampton site 1. These are the committee's statements. A conclusion of a committee is not a finding of wrongdoing by any person.
The recommendations as numbered in the report
All six recommendations are addressed to the Home Office. Recommendations 1 to 4 were due in the Treasury Minute and recommendations 5 and 6 alongside it 1.
| No. | Recommendation (summary, with committee wording) |
|---|---|
| 1 | "The Home Office should, as part of its Treasury Minute response, provide a detailed breakdown of" spending on cancelled programmes, remediation costs, benefits and money wasted, covering large sites, Rwanda and other initiatives 1 |
| 2 | Set out what changes it has made so future investment decisions use full information and stakeholder consultation, even at pace 1 |
| 3 | Set out current commercial and property staff numbers against the Northeye period, their seniority and accreditation, and plans to strengthen commercial capability 1 |
| 4 | Set out "how it will raise the profile" of control and assurance across the department 1 |
| 5 | Write to the committee on the lessons from all large asylum sites, the changes made to structures and processes, and how the lessons apply to smaller sites 1 |
| 6 | Write to the committee on how it intends to cut asylum support spending, including backlog timelines, tribunal capacity, the hotel exit date, dispersal and the effect of Border Security Command 1 |
Government response
The government replied in Treasury Minutes CP 1306, which covers the First to Fourth and Sixth to Ninth reports of Session 2024-25 2. The document is dated April 2025 2. The Parliament record lists the Treasury Minute on the Seventh Report as published on 6 May 2025 3. This page gives both dates.
In its reply to recommendation 1, the government gave site costs. It said Northeye cost around £15.4 million to buy in September 2023, with security costs of £150k to the end of 2024 and no remediation work 2. It said Scampton was bought for £6.5 million, £60 million was spent preparing it and a further £122 million would have been spent to 2027, which it said no longer represented value for money 2. It said Wethersfield meets the value for money test as it is cheaper than hotels, with planning permission to April 2027 2. It said a £20 million one-off payment was made to the Rwandan government 2.
On recommendation 2 the government described a Stage Gate process and earlier engagement with local authorities 2. On recommendation 3 it said: "The government agrees with this recommendation." 2 The government said it agreed with recommendations 4, 5 and 6 2.
| No. | Government position | Target date or status in CP 1306 |
|---|---|---|
| 1a | Agrees 2 | Recommendation implemented 2 |
| 1b | Agrees 2 | Recommendation implemented 2 |
| 2 | Agrees 2 | Recommendation implemented 2 |
| 3 | Agrees 2 | November 2025 2 |
| 4 | Agrees 2 | Recommendation implemented 2 |
| 5 | Agrees 2 | Recommendation implemented 2 |
| 6 | Agrees 2 | Recommendation implemented, and ongoing 2 |
Outcome as of 22 October 2026
HM Treasury reports later progress on open recommendations in Treasury Minutes Progress Reports. This page could not read those reports, so later status is not given here.
- 1a, 1b and 2: Implemented, according to the government in CP 1306 2. The committee's own view was not found.
- 3: Pending, with a target of November 2025 in CP 1306 2. No later public record of closure found as of 22 October 2026.
- 4, 5 and 6: Implemented according to the government in CP 1306, with 6 marked implemented and "ongoing" 2. The committee's own view was not found.
Common questions
How much did the Home Office pay for Northeye?
£15.4 million, according to the committee 1 and the government's Treasury Minute, which dates the purchase to September 2023 2.
How many recommendations did the PAC make?
Six, in its Seventh Report of Session 2024-25 1.
Did the government accept the recommendations?
Yes. It agreed with all six recommendations in CP 1306 2.
When did the government reply?
In Treasury Minutes CP 1306, dated April 2025 and listed by Parliament as published on 6 May 2025 2,3.
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Sources
- Committee of Public Accounts: Asylum accommodation: Home Office acquisition of former HMP Northeye, Seventh Report of Session 2024-25 (5 February 2025)
- HM Treasury: Treasury Minutes, Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts, CP 1306 (April 2025)
- UK Parliament: Treasury Minutes, Government response on the Seventh report from Session 2024-25 (6 May 2025)
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