A coalition of 44 refugee, legal-aid and human-rights organisations has written to the Home Secretary calling for the immediate closure of large-scale asylum accommodation centres housed on former Ministry of Defence sites. In an open letter published on 20 July 2026, the groups – led by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) – argue that conditions at Crowborough in East Sussex and Wethersfield in Essex, as well as proposed facilities at Barnham, Bicester and Linton-on-Ouse, are unsafe, undignified and more expensive than community-based housing. The signatories allege that up to 16 men are being placed in a single dormitory, with inadequate heating in winter and excessive heat in summer. They also cite limited access to lawyers, delays in postal correspondence that cause migrants to miss tribunal deadlines, and failures to screen for victims of trafficking – a practice they say breaches both the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and a recent High Court ruling on room-sharing policies. Médicins Sans Frontières, one of the endorsing NGOs, warned that the mass-containment model is “re-traumatising” asylum seekers who have fled torture and conflict. Financially, the letter points to National Audit Office data indicating that Wethersfield costs £135 per person per night compared with £23.25 for dispersal accommodation in the community. With the government spending nearly £4 billion a year on asylum housing, campaigners claim the camps are not only inhumane but economically irrational. The intervention comes as the government seeks to extend the use of Crowborough, increase capacity at Wethersfield and identify further military sites to replace hotel accommodation. Ministers argue that large, secure facilities deter irregular arrivals and cut hotel bills, but critics counter that remote camps isolate residents from legal support, healthcare and community integration opportunities. While the issue primarily affects asylum policy, employers that rely on charity-run integration programmes say the camp model hinders early English-language tuition and job-readiness training, delaying refugees’ entry into the labour market. Business groups have urged the Home Office to adopt smaller, city-based reception centres aligned with local skills shortages instead.
Source: Electronic Immigration Network
