The Home Office has announced that hundreds of asylum seekers have been moved from hotels to army barracks, including 350 to Crowborough military camp in East Sussex, which will eventually house up to 600 people. Eleven asylum hotels across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been closed, with more closures expected in the coming weeks.
The moves follow Prime Minister Keir Starmer's pledge to close all hotels housing asylum seekers before the next general election. The number of hotels still used for this purpose has fallen from a peak of 400 to 185, housing approximately 30,000 people. Another 70,000 asylum seekers live in other accommodation such as shared housing or military barracks.
Immigration Minister Alex Norris said hotels were meant to be a short-term stopgap under the previous government but spiralled out of control, costing taxpayers billions. He added that the government is shutting them down by moving people into more basic accommodation and scaling up large sites.
The Refugee Council criticised the decision, with director Imran Hussain stating that military sites are unsuitable and more expensive than hotels. He argued that granting temporary permission to stay to people from countries like Sudan and Iran could empty hotels within months.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp claimed there are more asylum seekers in hotels now than at the time of the election, accusing the government of hiding the situation by moving people into residential apartments.
