Home Office plan to use more military bases to house asylum seekers
Summary
The Home Office plans to use three more military sites in the UK to house about 3,750 asylum seekers, aiming to reduce the use of costly hotels for accommodation. Existing military sites in East Sussex and Essex will also have their use extended as the government prepares new immigration reforms.Key Facts
- Three Ministry of Defence sites in Oxfordshire, Suffolk, and North Yorkshire may house 3,750 asylum seekers if approved.
- Existing sites in Crowborough, East Sussex, and Wethersfield, Essex are being used and will continue housing asylum seekers until at least 2027 and 2030.
- About 21% of asylum seekers were in hotels as of March 2024, down from 56,000 at the peak in September 2023.
- The government has closed 20 more asylum hotels recently, reducing the total number to 170.
- Labour opposes using hotels for asylum seekers and wants to stop it entirely.
- Some local residents and human rights groups have protested the use of military bases for asylum seeker housing.
- The government plans to introduce the Immigration and Asylum Bill to increase deportations of people refused asylum.
- The cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers was around £2.1 billion in 2024-2025.
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