00:00Newcastle City Council confirmed that it remains in active talks with the Home Office over the City Centre site,
00:06which has been the subject of regular protests.
00:09Council Out Leader Karen Kilgawa said she shares the Government's ambition to end the use of hotel accommodation,
00:15but warned that the process won't happen overnight, and that no formal agreement has been made.
00:21It comes as the Government faces renewed criticism for what MPs have described as a failed, chaotic and expensive asylum housing system.
00:28Committee Chair Dame Karen Bradley said Ministers must finally learn from previous mistakes, or risk repeating them.
00:37In response, the Home Office said it remains committed to shutting all asylum hotels across the UK,
00:43claiming it has already reduced costs by nearly £1bn and is exploring the use of military bases and disused properties to house asylum seekers instead.
00:52Councilour Kilgawa said the current system is not an appropriate way to house asylum seekers in the long term,
00:59adding that many residents have faced unimaginable trauma before arriving to the UK.
01:04She described conditions in hotels as cramped and uncertain, with families and children living in single rooms for months.
01:11She also addressed misinformation, saying asylum seekers are not living in luxury but survive on less than £10 a week.
01:19Kilgawa has called for councils to be given more power over where asylum seekers are placed,
01:24arguing that a locally-led system would better protect communities, while helping new arrivals to integrate.
01:30The Home Office says its goal remains clear, to close every asylum hotel and end the reliance on temporary accommodation.
01:38But in Newcastle, for now, those talks continue with no firm timeline for change.
01:43The Home Office says its goal remains clear, to close every time,
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