Asylum seekers to be housed in barracks in bid to end hotel use

Hundreds of asylum seekers will be moved to military sites as the Government aims to end the use of hotels to house migrants.

The Home Office confirmed on Monday that two barracks in Scotland and southern England would be used to house around 900 men temporarily, with officials working to identify more sites in the coming weeks and months.

The plans will see men housed at Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex.

Both sites were used to accommodate Afghan families evacuated during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 while they were resettled elsewhere, with that work ending earlier this year.

The move is part of Government efforts to end the use of asylum hotels, which a parliamentary committee branded “failed, chaotic and expensive” on Monday.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels.

“This Government will close every asylum hotel.

“Work is well under way, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities and cut asylum costs.”

Other options being considered include military and industrial sites, temporary facilities and disused accommodation, and officials have been ordered to accelerate work identifying alternatives.

As of June this year, around 32,000 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels, down from a peak of more than 56,000 in 2023 but 2,500 more than at the same point last year.

And expected costs of Home Office accommodation contracts for 2019-2029 have tripled from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, following what the Commons Home Affairs Committee called a “dramatic increase” in demand.

On Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “frustrated and angry” as he sought to blame the previous government for leaving a “huge mess” in the asylum system by failing to process people’s claims.