Stop plans to use MoD sites for asylum seekers without full local consultation

Calling on the new Prime Minster and his Government to immediately withdraw plans to use MoD sites for asylum seeker accommodation without full, open and transparent consultation with the local communities and local representatives whose lives will be impacted most.

On 29 June, the Home Office announced plans to extend Crowborough, expand capacity and use at Wethersfield, and progress three further MOD sites for asylum accommodation. We agree with the public that all asylum hotels need to close. However, the Home Office must ensure that we have enough secure, safe and sustainable accommodation so that we can continue to meet our obligation in a fair and equitable manner.

That is a complex process that must be delivered in a controlled, managed and orderly way. We want to go further and faster, which is why we are expanding the use of large and medium sites, including former military sites, as alternative accommodation to hotels.

Large sites (such as former MOD sites) offer a sustainable solution for housing asylum seekers. Accommodation on former military sites is designed to be largely self-sufficient, with essential services being provided on site to minimise impacts on the local community and upon local services and offer better longer-term value for money. They reduce pressure on communities whilst also giving us greater oversight and control at critical points in the asylum decision making process.

Lessons have been learned from inherited acquisitions of accommodation under the previous government, which we are implementing to inform future accommodation procurement. No final decision will be taken regarding the new or existing sites until all necessary arrangements, assessments and approvals are in place and all factors have been properly considered.

The Home Office is already engaging with local authorities, police, health partners and other stakeholders in areas where there are proposed sites that may potentially be used: to understand local concerns, share information and support effective planning whilst also ensuring sites operate safely and respectfully, with robust measures in place to support community cohesion and maintain public safety at all times.

For any sites taken forward, engagement takes place through established multi-agency forums and regular discussions with local authorities, NHS partners, police forces, and other stakeholders. This ensures local concerns, community impacts, service pressures and public safety considerations are properly understood and considered as planning and delivery work progresses.

It is imperative that we fix this system. Only by restoring order and control to our borders can we be the open, tolerant and generous country that we know ourselves to be.

Home Office