The King on the Application of Coventry City Council v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Hearing dates: 28 th and 29 th July 2025

Approved Judgment

This judgment was handed down remotely at 10.00am on 14 th November 2025 by circulation to the parties or their representatives by e-mail and by release to the National Archives.

Introduction .

This claim arises out of the Claimant's challenge to the lawfulness of the Defendant's actions in placing asylum seekers in accommodation in the Claimant's local authority area. The Defendant's actions were taken in purported exercise of her powers derived from and in purported performance of her duties under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (“the 1999 Act”). The Claimant accepts that it is appropriate for a number of asylum seekers to be accommodated in its area but says that the number being accommodated there is excessive. It says that the Defendant's failure to reduce the number of asylum seekers accommodated in Coventry more quickly and her placement of further asylum seekers are both unlawful. The Defendant accepts that the number of asylum seekers accommodated in Coventry should be reduced. She contends that she is moving to implement a policy under which asylum seekers are accommodated more widely throughout the United Kingdom but she denies that there is any unlawfulness in the action she has taken thus far.

The trigger for these proceedings was the Defendant's decision of 13 ^th November 2024 to procure accommodation at the Ibis Hotel in Coventry for asylum seekers with effect from 15 ^th November 2024. However, it is clear that the Claimant already had more wide-ranging concerns about the number of asylum seekers accommodated in Coventry and about the pace of the Defendant's moves to a wider distribution of accommodation for asylum seekers.

As I will explain more fully below the Claimant had volunteered at an early stage to assist in allowing asylum seekers to be accommodated in Coventry and had provided support to those who were placed in the city. The Claimant is proud of the support it has provided to those seeking asylum. It remains willing to play its part in meeting the needs of asylum seekers. However, it is concerned that it is bearing more than its fair share and this claim is motivated by a concern to ensure that the burden of accommodating asylum seekers is shared more widely across the country. The Defendant is sympathetic to the Claimant's concerns. She says that she has sought to reduce the number of asylum seekers accommodated in Coventry and intends to continue to do so. However, the Defendant points out that she has a statutory duty to house asylum seekers. She also says that the need to provide such accommodation can arise at short notice and, on occasion, the circumstances will be such that the location of the accommodation to be used can carry little weight in the decision-making process.

The Claimant advances six grounds of challenge pursuant to permission given by Lang J. It contends that the approach which the Defendant has taken to accommodating asylum seekers in its area has been in breach of substantive and procedural legitimate expectations and contrary to the Defendant's own policy; that the approach is unlawful as thwarting the purpose of the 1999 Act; that the Defendant is in breach of her duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010; and, finally, that her approach is irrational.

The Legislative Framework .

The relevant parts of section 94(1) and (5) of the 1999 Act provide that:

“(1) … “asylum-seeker” means a person who is not under 18 and has made a claim for asylum which has been recorded by the Secretary of State but which has not been determined;

…

(5) If an asylum-seeker's household includes a child who is under 18 and a dependant of his, he is to be treated (for the purposes of this Part) as continuing to be an asylum-seeker while—(a) the child is under 18; and (b) he and the child remain in the United Kingdom.”

Section 95(1) and (3) empower the Defendant to provide or arrange for the provision of support to asylum seekers who appear to be destitute or who appear likely to become destitute in these terms:

“(1) The Secretary of State may provide, or arrange for the provision of, support for—

(a) asylum-seekers, or

(b) dependants of asylum-seekers,

who appear to the Secretary of State to be destitute or to be likely to become destitute within such period as may be prescribed…

…

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person is destitute if—

(a) he does not have adequate accommodation or any means of obtaining it (whether or not his other essential living needs are met); or

(b) he has adequate accommodation or the means of obtaining it, but cannot meet his other essential living needs.”

Section 96(1)(a) stipulates that support under section 95 may be provided by way of the provision of accommodation.

Section 97 identifies matters to which the Defendant may and may not have regard in the exercise of her powers under section 95 in these terms:

“(1) When exercising his power under section 95 to provide accommodation, the Secretary of State must have regard to—

(a) the fact that the accommodation is to be temporary pending determination of the asylum-seeker's claim;

(b) the desirability, in general, of providing accommodation in areas in which there is a ready supply of accommodation; and

(c) such other matters (if any) as may be prescribed.

(2) But he may not have regard to—

(a) any preference that the supported person or his dependants (if any) may have as to the locality in which the accommodation is to be provided; or

(b) such other matters (if any) as may be prescribed.”

Under the heading “temporary support” section 98(1) and (2) provide that:

“(1) The Secretary of State may provide, or arrange for the provision of, support for—

(a) asylum-seekers, or

(b) dependants of asylum-seekers, who it appears to the Secretary of State may be destitute.

(2) Support may be provided under this section only until the Secretary of State is able to determine whether support may be provided under section 95.”

The effect of regulation 5 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2005 is to convert the Defendant's power to provide support under sections 95 and 98 into a duty to do so.

Section 100 makes provision for a local authority to assist the Defendant in these terms:

“(1) This section applies if the Secretary of State asks—

(a) a local authority…

… to assist him to exercise his power under section 95 to provide accommodation.

(2) The person to whom the request is made must co-operate in giving the Secretary of State such assistance in the exercise of that power as is reasonable in the circumstances.

…

(4) A local authority must supply to the Secretary of State such information about their housing accommodation (whether or not occupied) as he may from time to time request.”

By section 101 the Defendant has a power to designate an area as a reception zone and to direct a local authority within such a zone to make accommodation available to her for the purposes of providing support under section 95. The power is provided thus:

“(1) The Secretary of State may by order designate as reception zones—

(a) areas in England and Wales consisting of the areas of one or more local authorities;

(b) areas in Scotland consisting of the areas of one or more local authorities;

(c) Northern Ireland.

(2) Subsection (3) applies if the Secretary of State considers that—

(a) a local authority whose area is within a reception zone has suitable housing accommodation within that zone; or

(b) the Executive has suitable housing accommodation.

(3) The Secretary of State may direct the local authority or the Executive to make available such of the accommodation as may be specified in the direction for a period so specified—

(a) to him for the purpose of providing support under section 95; or

(b) to a person with whom the Secretary of State has made arrangements under section 95.”

The power under section 101 has not been exercised since the 1999 Act came into force, and as will be explained below, the Defendant does not use local authority accommodation to fulfil her duty to accommodate destitute asylum seekers.

The Factual Background .

The Defendant performs her duty to arrange accommodation for asylum seekers through contracts with private suppliers. In return for payment from the Defendant those suppliers procure accommodation in the ways described below and then manage that accommodation. The contractor responsible for procuring and managing such accommodation in Coventry is Serco Ltd.

The scale of the Defendant's task was explained in the evidence of Belinda Mather, the Director of Asylum Accommodation in the Home Office. Miss Mather explained that the number of asylum seekers being accommodated had risen from 42,017 in December 2005 to a peak of 119,010 in September 2023. The latest figure given in Miss Mather's evidence was that of 106,181 asylum seekers being accommodated in September 2024. Miss Mather also pointed out that continuing effects of the backlog caused by the measures introduced to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic have coincided with an increase in the number of migrants seeking to enter the United Kingdom in small boats. Miss Mather says that “almost all of those arriving in the country by small boat subsequently submit an asylum claim”. She...