Boat migrants must be booked in three-star hotels at least, Home Office say

The Home Office has said small-boat migrants must be booked in three-star hotels at least as housing costs soar to £8million a day.

In a contract issued by the department, there is a list of 'mandatory requirements' for hotels, which includes: 'Contracted venues should be at least a minimum of three stars.'

It hasn't been disclosed how many hotels are tied to this contract and the Home Office said it is also using a separate agreement doesn't have a star requirement according to The Telegraph.

Despite MPs in the House of Commons challenging the use of hotels, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has not disclosed any specifics on the issue.

Meanwhile, this week she told Parliament the use of hotels is 'unacceptable' and that 'too many towns and cities around the country now house the 45,000 asylum seekers who are in hotels'.

A spokesman for the Home Office said most hotels did not have a minimum star requirement and the use of hotels was a temporary solution.

The Home Office's annual report revealed the bill for asylum hotels had risen to £8 million a day.

Safety issues and legal challenges have hamper ministers' ambitions to accommodate migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge and military bases.

Despite this, the report stated military bases would be 'scaled up over the coming months'.