Asylum Seekers to Face Significant Accommodation Charges
Asylum seekers will be required to pay up to £10,000 towards the cost of their hotels and taxpayer-funded homes under new government plans. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced that migrants will face monthly bills for their accommodation, with the option to deduct payments directly from benefit allowances. Those granted the right to work after their asylum claims are accepted will also be expected to begin repaying these costs.
Refugees will be barred from obtaining settlement rights if they have not repaid the full amount, according to sources. Officials stated that anyone who leaves the UK must continue making payments if they wish to return in the future.
Government Aims to Reduce Asylum Costs
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "The cost of asylum accommodation on the British taxpayer is too high. We have already reduced asylum costs by £1bn, but it is also right that we ask those who can contribute to do so. Receiving asylum support is a right, but it is also a responsibility. Once people can contribute and repay the generosity of the British people, we expect them to do so."
The government spent £4 billion on accommodation and support for asylum seekers last year. The Home Office estimates the average cost per person per night is £23.25 in dispersal accommodation and £144 in hotels, while subsistence payments range from £9.95 to £49.18 per person per week.
New Powers to Recover Costs
The Home Secretary will have the authority to adjust the charge and thresholds as officials work to reduce the £4 billion asylum system bill. The necessary powers will be outlined in the Immigration and Asylum Bill, set to be introduced to Parliament on Tuesday.
Labour is intensifying efforts to close asylum hotels by moving migrants into houses, flats, and bedsits across the country, as well as former military sites. While ministers publicly support moving asylum seekers into ex-military sites, the Home Office’s accommodation providers insist that houses, flats, and bedsits remain the core of their housing plans.
Current Asylum Seeker Housing Statistics
Nearly 70,000 asylum seekers are currently living in dispersal accommodation, including large Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). An additional 10,000 asylum seekers are set to be moved into properties in London, southern counties, and Wales, according to the CEO of Clearspring Ready Homes. Hundreds may also be housed in properties shared with local authorities for social housing.
The Express previously reported that the number living in dispersal accommodation could reach 100,000 under controversial Home Office contracts with Serco, Mears, and Clearspring Ready Homes. Service User Demand Plans have allocated 114,791 spaces for asylum seekers across the country. So far, 68,151 have been housed, with another 66,021 awaiting accommodation. The North East and North West have exceeded their targets but need to find homes for an additional 2,000 people. The West Midlands is expected to exceed its planned target, with 10,944 people anticipated to be housed, though 9,086 are already living there and 4,930 more are waiting.
Crackdown on Foreign Criminals and Deportations
Home Office figures show there are currently 19,779 foreign criminals living freely in Britain, more than double the 8,500 at the same point in 2020. They have been released into the community despite being eligible for deportation. Ms Mahmood has pledged a 40% increase in detention capacity as the government seeks to deport an additional 45,000 foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers over the next decade.
Detention centres at Campsfield in Oxfordshire and Haslar in Hampshire will be tripled in size to 1,000 spaces, increasing overall capacity to 3,440 for foreign criminals and illegal migrants facing deportation—the highest number in nearly a decade. A single appeals body will replace the two-tiered tribunal system, where each of the nearly 90,000 cases currently takes a year to hear. This body will be staffed by independent adjudicators appointed by the Home Office to speed up the process. New powers will also allow fast-tracking of appeals from late claimants facing removal.
