Asylum seekers to be moved onto military barracks in bid to end migrant hotels
Hundreds of asylum seekers are preparing to move into military barracks as ministers try to find a way to end hotels being used to house migrants.
The Home Office has confirmed that plans will see Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex and Cameron Barracks in Inverness used to temporarily house a total of 900 men.
Small boat migrants will be placed in accommodation at the end of next month. Officials are also working with the Ministry of Defense to identify other unused sites that could be used in the coming months to contain the refugee housing crisis.
There are also plans to build pop-up modular units, previously used to prevent overcrowding in prisons, in some areas.
The plans come as Labor steps up its bid to move tens of thousands of migrants out of hotels following a major row over hotel use.
A parliamentary committee on Monday described the use of asylum hotels as “unsuccessful, chaotic and expensive” and accused the Home Office of wasting billions of pounds on incompetence.
But the committee also said the use of military sites could cost more than hotels and also create security and legal risks. Any plans are also likely to face significant local opposition.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are outraged at the level of illegal immigrants and asylum hotels.
“This government will close all asylum hotels. Work continues to highlight more suitable locations to relieve pressure on communities and reduce asylum costs.”
Labor has pledged to end hotel use by 2029, but the prime minister has reportedly told ministers privately that he wants to end the practice within a year. Sir Keir Starmer said he was “disappointed and angry” at the “mess” Labor inherited when it came to asylum.
Defense minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Tuesday that ministers wanted to “step up” on closing asylum hotels and that the Ministry of Defense was “stepping up”.
He explained: “We are looking at existing areas where we can accommodate asylum seekers which would allow the Home Office to close more asylum hotels more quickly.
“It’s right that we step in and support our Home Office colleagues on this issue because I don’t think anyone wants to see asylum hotels open.”
Both areas were used to house Afghan families evacuated during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021. These families were resettled elsewhere and this study ended earlier this year.
It was reported that the site in Scotland will accommodate approximately 300 people, while the other site will accommodate around 600.
On Monday, housing minister Steve Reed said the government was looking at “modular” building forms to enable new spaces to be built quickly as part of plans to end the use of hotels “completely”.
Pop-up cabins are already being used to increase capacity at the former military base RAF Wethersfield in Essex, the Home Office’s largest asylum accommodation site.
Plans to build cabins at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire had been put forward, but were abandoned when Labor came to power.
Construction company Portakabin also said it was open to making an agreement with the Ministry of Internal Affairs to provide emergency prefabs to refugees.
As of June this year, approximately 32,000 refugees were housed in hotels; That number will exceed 56,000 in 2023, up more than 2,500 from the same point last year.
Expected costs of Home Office accommodation contracts for 2019-2029 have tripled from £4.5bn to £15.3bn following what the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee called a “dramatic increase” in demand.
Earlier this month, the number of migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats in 2025 exceeded the total for 2024.
