In an effort to stop hotel use, military locations will host asylum seekers.
As the government looks to stop using hotels, hundreds of asylum seekers may be placed in military camps. As initially reported in the Times, talks are in progress on the use of two locations—one in Scotland and the other in the south of England—for housing for 900 men. According to the BBC, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has given Home Office and Ministry of Defence personnel instructions to expedite the search for suitable military locations. By the next election, the government has promised to stop using refugee hotels, which have cost billions of pounds and turned into a focal point for anti-immigrant demonstrations.
Ministers are draughting plans to lodge migrants in the Cameron Barracks in Inverness and the Crowborough army training site in East Sussex by the end of next month. Temporary housing, industrial sites, and other vacant spaces are also being taken into consideration. The BBC was informed by government sources that all locations will adhere to health and safety regulations. “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels,” a representative for the Home Office stated.”Every asylum hotel will be shut down by this government. In an effort to reduce asylum costs and relieve pressure on communities, more appropriate locations are being proposed. There are presently over 32,000 asylum seekers staying in hotels, which is 2,500 more than the previous year but a decrease from a peak of over 56,000 in 2023. The Home Affairs Committee claimed that “flawed contracts” and “incompetent delivery” had caused the Home Office to turn to hotels as “go-to solutions” instead of short-term fixes, with anticipated expenses tripling to over £15 billion.
In response to the report’s conclusions, Sir Keir stated that he was “determined” to close all asylum hotels and added, “I can’t tell you how frustrated and angry I am that we’ve been left with a mess as big as this by the last government.” Asylum seekers are currently being housed at two former military locations, MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex, and Napier Barracks, a former military base in Kent, which were opened under the previous Tory administration.
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