Labour warns hotel use will soar under new Asylum Bill costing up to £25bn over the next 5 years
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Labour is warning that the combination of the
Conservatives’ new Asylum Bill and their failure to negotiate
returns agreements, including with France and other neighbouring
countries, means tens of thousands more asylum seekers will
end up staying in hotels indefinitely at a
potential cost of up to £25bn over the next five years. The
Bill makes the asylum claims of everyone who comes to the UK
through irregular routes, like small...Request free trial
Labour is warning that the combination of the Conservatives’ new Asylum Bill and their failure to negotiate returns agreements, including with France and other neighbouring countries, means tens of thousands more asylum seekers will end up staying in hotels indefinitely at a potential cost of up to £25bn over the next five years. The Bill makes the asylum claims of everyone who comes to the UK through irregular routes, like small boats, “inadmissible” regardless of their circumstances. And because the Conservatives have failed to negotiate any returns agreements with safe third countries, other than Rwanda which can only take 200-300 people and where the agreement is not currently operational, they will be stuck in permanent taxpayer-funded accommodation. The lack of returns agreements means there is no realistic prospect of removing the vast majority of asylum-seekers (from countries like Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea) who will have passed through France and other countries. According to Labour analysis, based on last year’s small boat crossing figures, 30,000 people a year will now end up in permanent taxpayer-funded accommodation, at a cost of an average £150 per person per night if they end up in hotel accommodation. Under the old rules some would have eventually had their claims rejected, for example around half of cases from Iraq are rejected, while others would have eventually had their claim accepted and moved on. As the accommodation will be indefinite, with no claims accepted therefore no one passing out of the system, these numbers will compound year-on-year - meaning an additional 100,000-150,000 permanently in taxpayer-funded accommodation within five years at a cost of many billions of pounds – as much as £25bn over five years if people are predominantly in hotels. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This Bill is a con. It will mean thousands more people in asylum accommodation indefinitely, with the taxpayer footing the bill because of the combination of their new law and their failure on returns. “Far from solving the problem, this will just make things worse. This is the opposite of what Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman promised “no ifs, no buts” and shows that once again they are chasing headlines rather than setting out a serious plan. “Labour has a common sense plan for a new cross-border police unit to target criminal people smuggling gangs, clear the backlog including fast-tracking cases from safe countries, ending hotel use and a new agreement with France on returns.” Ends Notes: Labour’s five-point plan:
A Labour Government would redirect spending from the unworkable Rwanda scheme, which the government has admitted is subject to a very high risk of fraud, to set up a new cross-border police unit to crack down on smuggling gangs. This would include millions of pounds of new investment through the National Crime Agency. Officers would be based in the UK and throughout Europe to tackle the gangs upstream. This would be supported with an urgent review to identify the gaps in enforcement against smuggling gangs, with the findings used to lay out an Action Plan to be delivered by the NCA and Border Force, in collaboration with international allies and Europol.
The Home Office is taking 10,000 fewer asylum decisions a year than they were in 2015, leaving people waiting in limbo for much longer and pushing up accommodation costs. Fast tracking cases for Albania and other safe countries, introducing triage and restoring proper casework standards and targets will mean quicker support for those who are refugees, much quicker returns for those who are not, and stopping costly hotel use.
Labour would redesign the existing resettlement schemes which are not currently working properly to prevent people being exploited by criminal gangs or making dangerous crossings – for example sorting the problems with the Afghan Resettlement Scheme or providing for refugees with family connections in the UK to be able to apply to resettlement schemes.
Labour would negotiate a new agreement which includes return agreements and properly managed alternative arrangements such as family reunion.
Labour would work in partnership internationally to address some of the humanitarian crises that are leading people to flee their homes including restoring the 0.7% aid commitment when the fiscal situation allows and strengthening support for the people of Afghanistan. Notes:
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