Britain has “squandered billions” on housing asylum seekers due to flawed contracts and reliance on unsuitable accommodation, according to a new parliamentary report released Monday.

The Home Affairs Committee said the government’s asylum housing system had become “a failed system that is expensive, unpopular with local communities and unsuitable for asylum seekers.”

The report found that the expected cost of asylum accommodation from 2019 to 2029 has more than tripled — from £4.5 billion ($6 billion) to £15.3 billion ($20.4 billion).

The criticism comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure over immigration, following the high-profile manhunt for Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian migrant and convicted sex offender who was accidentally released from prison before being re-arrested on Sunday.

A sharp rise in asylum seekers housed in government-paid accommodation — from 47,500 at the end of 2018 to 103,000 by June 2025 — has fuelled public anger. More than 32,000 migrants are currently being housed in hotels, despite a drop from the peak levels reached in 2023 under the previous Conservative administration.

“Hotels went from a temporary stop-gap to the go-to solution for asylum accommodation,” the committee said, adding that the Home Office had failed to ensure service providers met basic standards.

Local communities have complained about safety and the impact on tourism, while migrant rights groups have condemned poor hygiene and overcrowded conditions, accusing contractors of profiting at the expense of asylum seekers.

Starmer’s Labour government has pledged to end the use of hotels in the asylum system by 2029, part of its plan to reduce the backlog of pending asylum applications.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary David Lammy is expected to outline measures in Parliament to tighten prisoner release checks, following what one government minister described as a “broken” justice system.