Hundreds of asylum seekers are set to be relocated to military facilities in Scotland and Sussex as part of an initiative to phase out the use of hotels. The Home Office has confirmed that approximately 900 men will be housed temporarily at these sites, with efforts underway to identify additional locations to expedite the closure of hotels.

The relocation plan involves accommodating men at Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex, both of which were previously utilized to house Afghans during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021. This move comes in response to a critical report highlighting significant financial losses incurred through costly contracts due to leadership failures under the previous administration.

Speaking to Sky News, Defence Minister Luke Pollard emphasized the government’s commitment to shutting down asylum hotels by the end of the parliamentary term. He noted that 24 hotels have already closed, resulting in savings of £1 billion, but there is a push to accelerate the process. The Ministry of Defence is actively exploring available sites to accommodate asylum seekers, aligning with the Prime Minister’s directive to eliminate all asylum hotels.

Pollard stressed that the military barracks designated for asylum seekers will be managed by a contracted provider working with the Home Office, ensuring essential services such as food, cleaning, and security are in place. The transition to military facilities is part of a broader government strategy to phase out asylum hotels, following strong criticism from a parliamentary committee describing the current system as dysfunctional and costly.

As of June this year, approximately 32,000 asylum seekers were housed in hotels, a reduction from the peak of over 56,000 in 2023 but still higher than the previous year. The projected costs of Home Office accommodation contracts from 2019 to 2029 have surged from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, reflecting a significant surge in demand according to the Commons Home Affairs Committee.

Opposition leader Keir Starmer expressed frustration and anger over the asylum system’s state, blaming the previous government for the backlog in processing claims. The government is actively working to transition asylum seekers to more suitable accommodations to alleviate community strain and reduce asylum-related expenses.