Request

Please provide the following data:

Total number of HC2 certificates issued each year from 2020 to the most recent available date.

Of those, please provide the number of HC2 certificates issued to addresses registered as hotels, guest houses, or other temporary accommodation (e.g. “Station Hotel”, “Bed & Breakfast”, etc.) — broken down by year for the same period.

If available, please also include:

• A breakdown by region or local authority (for hotel-based certificates only).
• Whether the recipient was identified as an asylum seeker, refugee, or person receiving publicly funded temporary housing.

If this request exceeds the cost limit, please prioritise:

• Data from 2022–2024.
• Question (2): the number of HC2 certificates issued to hotel addresses.

Please provide the information in digital format.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 29 June 2025.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Our response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds some of the information you have requested.

Please note that:

• The data shows the number of certificates issued per year, not the number of people who have received certificates.
• Once issued, an HC2 certificate can be used until it expires. HC2s usually expire after 12 months. HC2s for asylum seekers expire after six months. Therefore, there could be more than one certificate issued to an asylum seeker in a 12-month period.
• Someone who is granted refugee status must pay for health costs such as NHS prescriptions and NHS dental treatment, unless they are exempt for another reason.

Question one: Total number of HC2 certificates issued each year from 2020 to the most recent available date.

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested, and a copy of the information is attached.

Question two: HC2 certificates issued to hotel-type addresses, broken down by year.

Following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA. The NHSBSA does not hold information that confirms if an address is registered as a hotel, a guest house, or any other form of temporary accommodation.

Question three: Breakdown by region or by recipient type (asylum seeker/refugee/etc.)

As we do not hold information that confirms if an address is registered as a hotel or any form of temporary accommodation, we are unable to provide the requested breakdown by region or local authority or figures relating to persons in temporary accommodation.

Please see the explanation given above regarding refugees.

A copy of the information requested regarding asylum seekers is attached.

Publishing this response

This information will be published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-20960

Your personal details will be removed from the published response.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk quoting the above reference for queries, clarifications, or plans to publish the data.

Reusing the data and copyright

If producing a press or broadcast story based on the data, please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk to avoid misunderstandings.

The information is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright under the Open Government Licence:

Open Government Licence v3

To re-use, include: “NHSBSA Copyright 2025”.

Third-party information remains under the copyright of the originator. Please seek their permission before reproducing.