Just days before the first transfers were due, the Home Office quietly delayed its scheme to house more than 800 asylum seekers at Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex and Cameron Barracks in Inverness. Officials cited “operational and safety concerns” after on-site inspections suggested the facilities were not ready to meet minimum accommodation standards.
The postponement comes as the government tries to slash the £8-million-a-day hotel bill for asylum seekers. Numbers lodged in hotels hit 36,272 at the end of September—up 13 percent in three months—fueling political pressure to find cheaper, more permanent sites. Labour ministers revived the barracks idea this autumn after criticising the previous Conservative “Rwanda plan”, but logistics have proved daunting: both Crowborough and Cameron lack sufficient fire exits, healthcare rooms and internet connectivity for asylum-case interviews.
![Home Office pauses plan to move 800 asylum seekers into former barracks]()
Local councils have also pushed back. Wealden District Council issued a planning-contravention notice for Crowborough, while Highland Council warned of winter-weather risks at the Scottish site. Community groups fear a repeat of 2021’s Napier Barracks crisis, when a Covid-19 outbreak and reports of inadequate sanitation forced an emergency evacuation.
For corporate mobility teams, the delay matters because it prolongs hotel occupancy in key business hubs, tightening room supply during the crucial holiday-travel window. Travel managers should revisit block-booking agreements and prepare contingency budgets for rate spikes near London and Edinburgh.
Looking ahead, the Home Office says it will “re-sequence” the rollout rather than abandon it. But until the barracks pass health-and-safety audits—and the Home Office’s private-sector contractor CTM completes a separate over-charging review—companies should expect continued volatility in short-term accommodation for relocating staff and visiting project teams.
The postponement comes as the government tries to slash the £8-million-a-day hotel bill for asylum seekers. Numbers lodged in hotels hit 36,272 at the end of September—up 13 percent in three months—fueling political pressure to find cheaper, more permanent sites. Labour ministers revived the barracks idea this autumn after criticising the previous Conservative “Rwanda plan”, but logistics have proved daunting: both Crowborough and Cameron lack sufficient fire exits, healthcare rooms and internet connectivity for asylum-case interviews.
Local councils have also pushed back. Wealden District Council issued a planning-contravention notice for Crowborough, while Highland Council warned of winter-weather risks at the Scottish site. Community groups fear a repeat of 2021’s Napier Barracks crisis, when a Covid-19 outbreak and reports of inadequate sanitation forced an emergency evacuation.
For corporate mobility teams, the delay matters because it prolongs hotel occupancy in key business hubs, tightening room supply during the crucial holiday-travel window. Travel managers should revisit block-booking agreements and prepare contingency budgets for rate spikes near London and Edinburgh.
Looking ahead, the Home Office says it will “re-sequence” the rollout rather than abandon it. But until the barracks pass health-and-safety audits—and the Home Office’s private-sector contractor CTM completes a separate over-charging review—companies should expect continued volatility in short-term accommodation for relocating staff and visiting project teams.
