Scottish Minister Slams Lack of Engagement Over Cameron Barracks Plan

(INVERNESS, SCOTLAND) Scottish ministers have accused the UK Government of a “lack of engagement” over plans to house asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks in Inverness from November 2025, warning that placing people in military sites risks harm and undermines integration. Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, said the Scottish Government could help, but only with proper backing from Westminster.

“The Scottish Government stands ready to help house asylum seekers,” she said, adding that “appropriate financial assistance” must be provided if Scotland is to do so effectively.

The Home Office has set out plans to move around 900 asylum seekers into two military barracks from next year, with approximately 300 due to be sent to Cameron Barracks in Inverness and about 600 to Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex. Prefabricated modular units are expected to be erected at both sites to create accommodation blocks. The move is part of a push by ministers in London to shut down hotel use for asylum accommodation, a policy Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended this week.

“I want to see asylum hotels closed down as quickly as possible, but obviously you’ll appreciate that we’ve got to process the claims and/or find other accommodation,” he said.

Scottish ministers said the UK Government has not worked constructively with devolved authorities or local leaders on the barracks plan. They argue that meaningful engagement with communities is vital before any large-scale placements are made. One local official warned that “Housing people seeking sanctuary in remote or institutional settings, without meaningful engagement with local communities, risked undermining integration and support networks.” Highland leaders and service providers say advance planning is essential if hundreds of new arrivals are to access health care, education, and legal advice, and to link with established support groups.

The Scottish Government has long opposed using large institutional sites or vessels for asylum accommodation, saying such settings are inappropriate for people who have often fled conflict and persecution. In a formal letter to the UK Government, Scottish ministers wrote:

“We have set out clearly, on numerous occasions, that use of vessels and large sites are not suitable for people seeking asylum. There are fundamental differences between people seeking asylum and other groups supported in temporary accommodation, in terms of their agency, support available to them and long term outcomes. This, combined with the high likelihood of having experienced trauma, makes prolonged stays in contingency accommodation unsuitable and entirely counter to integration principles.”

Officials in Edinburgh say they have repeatedly asked the Home Office to consider smaller, community-based accommodation options spread across council areas.

Documents from March 2025 underline that stance. Scottish officials wrote:

“We do not agree that large sites or vessels can provide such accommodation,”

and noted that all 32 local authorities in Scotland are open to taking part in dispersal, provided appropriate support and funding are in place. The government in Edinburgh says that commitment offers a clear alternative to placing asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks in Inverness, far from many specialist services and community networks that help with language, mental health, and legal representation.

The Home Office has insisted that expanding the use of non-hotel sites is necessary to bring down costs and speed up closures of hotel accommodation. Defence Minister Luke Pollard has previously said the move is intended to

“take the pressure off the asylum hotel estate and enable those to be closed at a faster rate.”

Ministers in London argue that barracks and similar facilities provide a way to house people while their claims are assessed, and that modular units can be installed quickly to increase capacity. Across the UK, the government has said it aims to reduce reliance on hotels by using a mix of large sites and existing properties while it accelerates decision-making on claims.

Inverness’s Cameron Barracks, a historic military site on the outskirts of the Highland capital, would host roughly a third of the people affected by the new plan. That scale has raised practical concerns locally about transport links, access to general practitioners, and the availability of trauma-informed support. Community organisations that have assisted arrivals in the Highlands say they can help, but only if they are brought into planning early and funding is provided to expand services. Scottish ministers say they have conveyed those points to the UK Government, alongside objections to the use of barracks as a policy choice.

Somerville’s intervention reflects a broader pattern of tension between Edinburgh and London over asylum accommodation. She has challenged both the principle and the process, arguing that the Scottish Government cannot be expected to absorb the costs of new placements without Westminster support.

“Appropriate financial assistance,” she said, is essential if the dispersal approach—placing smaller numbers of asylum seekers across all 32 councils—is to work in practice.

Scottish officials say they are willing to coordinate with councils, housing providers, and the third sector to identify properties in towns and cities where people can settle, access schools and services, and start to rebuild their lives.

Ministers in Edinburgh also point to the particular needs of asylum seekers, including those who have survived torture, survived trafficking, or experienced family separation. They say prolonged stays in institutional settings can worsen trauma and make it harder for people to integrate once they receive status. The letter to the UK Government states that “prolonged stays in contingency accommodation” are “entirely counter to integration principles,” a phrase that reflects their view that integration begins from day one, with stable housing near services and community links.

The UK Government’s plan to erect prefabricated modular units suggests the barracks will function as large-scale, semi-permanent accommodation for an extended period, rather than short-term overflow. That prospect worries local leaders who recall the strains on services when previous asylum accommodation sites were set up without adequate notice. They say coordination on everything from school places to GP registration and mental health referrals requires months of preparation and clear lines of responsibility between governments, councils, and contractors. The “lack of engagement” cited by Scottish ministers has become a rallying point for local officials pressing for direct talks with the Home Office.

For residents in Inverness, the arrival of up to 300 asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks would be one of the largest single placements outside Scotland’s main cities. Support groups say the Highlands community has a track record of welcoming newcomers, but stress that people must be placed where they can connect with existing networks. Transport from the barracks into the city, access to English classes, and proximity to legal surgeries are among the immediate practical questions. Some local organisations have called for dispersal across smaller sites within Inverness and nearby towns instead of concentrating hundreds of people in one institutional compound.

The wider UK policy context hangs over the plan. Prime Minister Starmer’s push to close hotels follows sustained criticism over cost and conditions in the hotel estate. The government says faster processing and alternative sites will reduce the bill to taxpayers. Rights groups and devolved administrations have challenged the use of large sites, arguing that they isolate people and risk poor conditions. The Scottish Government’s March 2025 position that “all 32 Scottish local authorities are open to asylum dispersal” with support is being used to argue for a different approach that spreads arrivals across communities where services can scale up.

As the timeline moves toward November 2025, Scottish ministers want the Home Office to pause the barracks plan and engage with councils on dispersal options and funding. They point out that people granted refugee status need to move quickly into long-term housing, and that institutional sites can create bottlenecks when move-on support is delayed. Local officials in Inverness say that even if Cameron Barracks is used, the Home Office should commit to regular briefings, a clear funding package for health and education, and published service standards for accommodation providers.

The Home Office has not issued a detailed public reply to the latest criticism from Edinburgh, but it has repeatedly said it is committed to ending hotel use and providing basic support during the asylum process. Official guidance on asylum support, including accommodation and financial help for people awaiting a decision, is set out on the UK Home Office asylum support guidance page. Ministers in Scotland say policy choices on where and how to house people must align with that duty of care and with integration goals agreed across local government.

For now, the plan remains to move about 300 people to Cameron Barracks in Inverness and about 600 to Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex, using modular units to expand capacity on both sites. Unless there is a shift in approach, the Highlands could see one of the most visible tests of the UK Government’s strategy to replace hotel accommodation with large institutional sites. Whether the two governments can broker a deal on funding and dispersal before the first arrivals in November 2025 may determine how well those asylum seekers, and the communities that will host them, manage the transition.