A hotel in Huntingdonshire will stop housing asylum seekers as part of Government efforts to cut asylum claims.

The unnamed hotel in St Ives is among 50 hotels of an estimated 400 announced by Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick to close to asylum seekers and emptied by January.

The exact timing of the closure in St Ives is subject to a contract between the hotel and the Home Office, but the hotel will cease to be used by asylum seekers from November 2023.

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Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly welcomed the news and said: "I’m sure the people of Huntingdonshire will be pleased that this hotel can once again begin to serve the community and get back to business.

"Hotels are valuable assets in any community, and utilising this hotel for asylum seekers was necessary but was only ever there to serve as a short-term solution.

"This positive move will have an impact on businesses and tourism and remove the pressure on local public services.”

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Residents of the hotel will be notified a minimum of five days in advance and moved to the existing contingency and dispersal estate.

Mr Djanogly added: "The Home Office has always been clear the use of hotels was a short-term measure to ensure that we meet our statutory obligation to accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute during a period of unprecedented numbers of small boat arrivals."