UK will end use of hotels for asylum seekers by 2029, Reeves says

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers before the next election in 2029, finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday, in a move which will save 1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion) a year.

"We will be ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this parliament," she said in a speech setting out spending plans for the coming years.

Reeves said she would end the use of hotels by providing funding to cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return those refused asylum.

($1 = 0.7416 pounds)

(Reporting by David Milliken, writing by Sarah Young, editing by Catarina Demony)