- Flat-rate charge will apply to all adults who are able to pay
and have stayed in accommodation or have received support
- Ability to pay will be means-tested
- Measure is part of the landmark Immigration and Asylum Bill,
bringing into force the most sweeping reforms in a generation to
restore fairness to the system
Asylum seekers who are able to pay back the cost of support and
accommodation will now be required to, under new laws.
The Immigration and Asylum Bill, which will be introduced to
Parliament today, sets out new powers for the Home Office to
recover costs from adults who have received asylum support such
as subsistence or accommodation, provided they have access to
sufficient funds.
The payment will take the form of a flat-rate charge, with
eligible adults paying off an amount each month above a set
threshold.
There will be various methods for those individuals to pay. The
primary mechanism for this is expected to be through direct
payments to the Home Office with options also being explored to
use the tax and benefits systems.
Migrants will be required to pay off the full amount before being
eligible for settlement. Anyone who leaves the UK will be
required to make their payments if they wish to return at a
future date.
The Home Secretary will have the power to adjust the charge and
the thresholds, ensuring they are both fair to the taxpayer and
will not force any migrant into destitution. Under plans,
migrants are expected to have to pay a total sum of around
£10,000. This figure will be a contribution to the overall cost
of their asylum support.
Home Secretary , said:
The cost of asylum accommodation on the British taxpayer is too
high.
We have already reduced asylum costs by £1 billion, 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.
Currently, asylum seekers in the UK receive a package of support
which has become a financial burden on the taxpayer, with annual
costs of £4 billion across accommodation and support last year.
The government has already cut these costs by nearly a billion
pounds since taking office and is going further by ending the use
of asylum hotels, with 31 closed since April and hundreds of
asylum seekers moved into basic accommodation including
ex-military sites.
Requiring individuals to pay towards the cost of their support
will allow those on a pathway to settlement to make a
contribution to UK society and repay some of our generosity. For
those without a right to remain it will ensure they take
responsibility for the financial impact of their presence in this
country.
The Home Office estimates the average cost per person per night
of accommodating asylum seekers is £23.25 in dispersal
accommodation and £144 in hotels, while subsistence payment range
from £9.95 to £49.18 per person per week.
This legislation will now also ensure that recipients of asylum
support contribute to their own costs, once they are able to do
so.
A quarter of 16 to 64-year-olds granted asylum refugees between
2015 and 2023 were in employment within the same calendar year
they were granted status, with that number rising to 50% two
years after refugee status was granted.
Of those who were in employment eight years after the grant, 37%
were in full-time work with median earnings of £23,000, with 40%
earning more than minimum wage.
The Immigration and Asylum Bill will bring into force the most
significant policy proposals in a generation to create a firm but
fair asylum system that works for Britain, restoring order and
control to the immigration system and reducing the pull factors
driving illegal migration.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- Details of how the new powers will work in practice will be
set out in due course, but it will apply prospectively only.
- Children who have received support will be exempted.
- At its peak under the previous government, it cost taxpayers
an astonishing £9m a day to fund hotels and confidence in
communities was shattered
- The new powers will apply to Section 4 and Section 95 Asylum
support (accommodation and payments).
- A flat charge of around £10,000 is being explored.
