Introduction

No child should have to live in hotel-type accommodation. As we set out below, this is the clear and long-standing view of national and international human rights institutions, statutory inspection bodies, third sector organisations and academic experts. And yet, in both the asylum and homeless systems, children are experiencing significant periods in environments which can be actively dangerous, exacerbate trauma and cause long term harm to health and development. Use of hotel-type accommodation for anything other than a short-term, emergency basis is likely to violate a wide range of children’s human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). These are environments that are inherently not conducive to the realisation of children’s rights.

Given the legal, policy and system pressures that underpin it, there seems little prospect of the use of hotel-type accommodation ending in the short-term; in either the asylum or homelessness systems.

In that light, this report is intended to support decision-makers and frontline practitioners in minimising the use of, and mitigating the harms caused by, this type of environment. The report sets out the human rights framework relevant to use of hotel-type accommodation for children and families in any circumstance, whether in the asylum system or as part of a local authority response to homelessness. It links international human rights standards with domestic law obligations, and the most up to date research evidence, illustrated and informed by insights from those who have experience of living in hotel-type accommodation for lengthy periods of time.

We also have a short report for children and young people.