Two former military sites – MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex, and Napier Barracks, a former military base in Kent – are already being used after opening under the previous Conservative government.
Both house single, adult men. Wethersfield has a capacity of 1,245 and a typical maximum stay of nine months, while Napier can hold 328 men for up to 90 days.
In 2021 a High Court judge described Napier Barracks as “squalid” and overcrowded – with “filthy” facilities and “detention-like” settings – requiring government action.
The site has continued to operate and is due to be handed back to the Ministry of Defence in January, before being taken over by a housing developer in March.
The High Court was told in 2024 that Wethersfield was like a prison – with three migrants bringing a case against the former home secretary describing tensions and outbreaks of violence within its walls.
On Tuesday, several security workers who say they were suddenly dismissed from their jobs at Wethersfield, after walking out over pay and conditions, told the BBC that some residents there were violent and possessed weapons.
The site is run by Clearsprings Ready Homes – which has a 10-year contract with the Home Office to provide accommodation services to asylum seekers, including running asylum hotels.
The Home Affairs Committee also warned on Monday that using former barracks to house large numbers of asylum seekers had major drawbacks and could cost a similar amount to hotels.
Hosting an asylum seeker on Wethersfield barracks costs £132 per night – compared to the £144.98 average cost in a hotel – not including the £105m cost of converting the site.
Its report also highlighted “trade-offs” including isolation, limited access to healthcare and schools, and tensions with local communities.
Asked if the government would use barracks even if they ended up costing more, the prime minister’s spokesman said costs would “vary from site to site”.
Adding that “this is also a core issue of public confidence”, the spokesman added the aim was to end the use of “luxury” accommodation – although he did not answer questions on what would come under this category.
Proposals to use other military bases in this way have previously been shelved following local backlash, such as RAF Scrampton in Lincolnshire.
Labour said the plans for the site – put forward by the previous Tory government – were scrapped last year because they did not represent value for money.
Pollard said last month that “every site” – including those previously considered – would be looked at as ministers sought alternatives to hotels.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, a charity, said moving to use “asylum camps” would be “exchanging one failed approach with another”.
