Former military base to continue housing asylum seekers

A former military base which houses asylum seekers in Kent, which had been due to close in September, may now stay open until December.

The Home Office confirmed it is considering extending its use until the end of the year, despite previous concerns about poor living conditions.

The site in Folkestone has continued to accommodate asylum seekers since 2020, despite being described by a judge as “squalid” four years ago.

The Guardian reported earlier this month that the site would remain open beyond September.

The Home Office says it is working on identifying cheaper and more appropriate sites for use as asylum accommodation.

Napier Barracks started out as contingency accommodation for migrants seeking asylum at the start of the Covid pandemic.

But in 2021, following a fire and outbreak of the virus at the site, a High Court judgement found the accommodation it provided was inadequate.

Mr Justice Linden said the barracks were overcrowded, run down with “filthy” facilities and contained “detention-like” settings for men.

The Home Office said the following year that it had made “significant” improvements to the site – but still faced calls from MPs for it to be closed.

Under Labour, it said in March this year that Napier Barracks would cease operating as housing for asylum seekers in September.

A spokesperson said the ministry was continuing “to fulfil our statutory obligations and deliver our commitments to reduce the cost of asylum accommodation, and end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament”.

The announcement comes hours after the home secretary announced an overhaul of the asylum system aimed at cutting the number of people being housed in temporary accommodation while awaiting an asylum ruling.

Yvette Cooper said a new body of independent adjudicators would fast-track decisions on appeals, which currently take just over a year on average to be heard.

During this time, asylum seekers whose applications have been unsuccessful are accommodated at the taxpayers’ expense. There are currently 32,000 asylum seekers being housed in hotels.

A High Court judgement earlier this week barred the use of a hotel in Epping to house asylum seekers – potentially paving the way for similar legal action over other hotels.

The government’s pledge to end its reliance on hotels to house migrants follows protests across the UK over their use.