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hundreds of asylum seekers He is set to be taken to the military barracks as the minister struggles to find a way to get there Stop using hotels for home migrants,
The Home Office has confirmed that Crowborough training camp in East Sussex and Cameron Barracks in Inverness will be used temporarily to house around 900 men in total under the plans.
By the end of next month, small boat migrants will start being accommodated. Officials are also working with the Ministry of Defense to identify other unused sites that could be used in the coming months to overcome the asylum accommodation crisis.
There are also plans to create pop-up modular units, which have previously been used deal with prison overcrowding, On some sites.
The plan comes as Labor steps up its bid to move thousands of migrants out of hotels following a huge row over their use.
on monday a Parliamentary committee described the use of asylum hotels as “failing, chaotic and expensive”. and accused the Home Office of wasting billions of pounds as a result of incompetence.
But the committee also said the use of military sites was likely to cost more than hotels and would also pose security and legal risks. Any plan is also likely to face significant local opposition.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are angry at the level of illegal immigrants and asylum hotels.
“This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway, with more suitable sites being brought forward to reduce pressure on communities and cut asylum costs.”
The Labor Party has promised to end the use of hotels by 2029, but the Prime Minister has reportedly told ministers privately that he wants to end the practice within a year. Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “disappointed and angry” at the “mess” Labor inherited when it comes to asylum.
Defense Minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Tuesday that ministers want to “move quickly” on closing asylum hotels and the Ministry of Defense is “stepping up”.
He explained: “We are looking at the sites that we have available where we can house asylum seekers, allowing the Home Office to close more asylum hotels faster.
“It is right that we step up and support our Home Office colleagues in this regard, because I don’t think anyone wants to see asylum hotels open.”
Both sites were used to accommodate evacuated Afghan families during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021. Those families were resettled elsewhere, with the work ending earlier this year.
It was reported that the Scotland site would house about 300 people, while the other site would house about 600 people.
Housing Secretary Mohd. on Monday steve reed Said government is considering a “modular” type of construction to rapidly set up new sites, as part of a plan to phase out the use of hotels “completely”.
Pop-up cabins are already being used to expand capacity at RAF Wethersfield, a former military base in Essex, which is the Home Office’s largest refuge accommodation site.
Plans were made to install the cabin at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, but this was canceled when Labor came to power.
Building company Portakabin has also said it is ready to strike a deal with the Home Office to provide emergency prefabs for asylum seekers.
As of June this year, about 32,000 asylum seekers were being held in hotels, down from a peak of more than 56,000 in 2023, but 2,500 more than the same point last year.
The expected cost of Home Office accommodation contracts for 2019-2029 has tripled from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, in what the Commons Home Affairs Committee has called a “dramatic increase” in demand.
earlier this month The number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats in 2025 exceeded the total for the whole of 2024.