British families could face a £13 billion bill to cover the cost of migrants granted the right to stay under Labour, according to analysis from the Conservative Party. The party warns that nearly 100,000 people have been given permission to remain in the UK by the current Government.
Family and Private Life grants under scrutiny
Many of those granted status benefit from a Family and Private Life grant, which allows individuals to stay if they have a personal tie to the country but do not qualify for other access routes to the UK. Home Office estimates put the lifetime cost of such a migrant at £141,000, and the Conservatives say they would scrap the grant.
Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: "There is no such thing as a free grant of asylum, and after two years of waving people through Labour have handed the British taxpayer a bill for £13 billion."
Conservatives pledge to end 'free-for-all'
Philp added: "Labour’s immigration free-for-all must end. Nearly 100,000 people have been given the right to stay under this Labour Government, rushed through at the fastest rate in our history, each one costing £141,000 over the course of a lifetime."
He continued: "The Conservatives would ban asylum grants for those who have arrived illegally so they can be deported quickly on arrival."
Analysis of asylum grants
Analysis seen by the Daily Express suggests there have been 95,874 asylum grants of protection or other leave under Labour. That analysis claims the lifetime cost of those granted asylum is estimated to be £13,518,234,000.
A Home Office spokesman said the department did not recognise the analysis, which is based on data from that same department. They said: "We do not recognise this analysis. We have saved taxpayers £1 billion on asylum support costs since the election. The asylum grant rate has decreased to 38% and the backlog is at its lowest level since 2019, meaning fewer people are being supported at the taxpayer’s expense."
The spokesman added: "We have also halved the number of asylum seekers in hotels over the past year, and since the election, returned over 80,000 people with no right to be in the UK." The Government has recently boosted enforcement with their French counterparts to intercept illegal migrants on French beaches.
