Asylum seekers to be housed in disused care homes and student digs

Wethersfield, a former military base in a remote part of Essex which now houses asylum seekers, is referred to as a ‘stalag’ by local residents. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Asylum seekers will be housed in disused care homes and student digs under a Home Office plan to find 800 new accommodation sites and cut a bill that has risen to £5.5m a day.

Home Office sources have confirmed to the Guardian that the fundamental changes to asylum accommodation are under way in a bid to save millions spent every day on hotel accommodation.