Asylum Accommodation
House of Commons · Written Statements · 29 Jun 2026 · 1 speech · Official Report
This Government inherited an asylum system under significant strain, with hundreds of hotels in use at considerable cost to the taxpayer. I wish to update the House on the Government’s action to fix the asylum accommodation system, ending the use of asylum hotels and replacing them with alternatives that work. We are scaling up alternative accommodation by expanding the use of large, basic facilities, including former military sites, to replace unsuitable hotels. Three new ex-military sites are now under consideration: MoD Barnham, MoD Bicester and MoD Linton-on-Ouse. Together, these sites could eventually provide accommodation for around 3,750 asylum seekers, subject to feasibility assessments, planning and the necessary approvals. We will also seek to extend the use of Crowborough and expand both the capacity and duration of use at Wethersfield. Following detailed assessments, the Government have decided not to proceed with Cameron Barracks in Scotland as a potential site for asylum accommodation, and it will be returned to the Ministry of Defence. Alongside this, and as part of the next phase of delivering our commitment to end asylum hotel use by the end of this Parliament and return them to communities, we are closing a further 20 asylum hotels across England. Hotel use has now more than halved since its peak. Just under 170 asylum hotels remain in use, down from around 400 at the height of the previous Government’s reliance on hotels. The number of people accommodated...