00:00When the Conservatives were in power, I think the peak number of asylum seekers in hotels was over 50,000.
00:08So I'm just curious as to why then Conservative councils weren't seeking to take legal action against the government, but you are now.
00:17Well, the reason is that after that peak was hit, the Conservative government centrally, nationally, took action,
00:24which halved that number, it went from 56,000 down to, I think it was 29,000 at the time of the election, went from 400 down to about 200 hotels.
00:36So the Conservative government nationally took action and halved the hotel number during its last nine months in office.
00:41But in a way, Mr Phil, the question still stands.
00:43And had that, well, no, it doesn't, because local councils didn't need to take legal action because the Conservative government were getting hotel numbers down.
00:51Had that rate of reduction, excuse me, that rate of reduction continued beyond the election, we would now actually have no hotels.
01:00But unfortunately, the Labour government has taken a different approach.
01:04Actually, the numbers in hotels went up during Labour's first nine months in office.
01:09And that is why councils in frustration and anger are taking legal action.
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