UK to Spend £500 Million on Housing and Supporting Asylum Seekers by Next Year: Report

DUNGENESS, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Migrant men are aided ashore by members of the R.N.L.I.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

The British government is expected to spend over half a billion pounds sterling in taxpayer money on accommodation and support payments for asylum seekers next year, an analysis from a leading think tank has found.

The annual cost for supporting migrants while their asylum claims are processed in Britain has already hit approximately £430 million per year, rising more than £200 million since 2018.

A report seen by Breitbart London from the Migration Watch UK think tank found that spending on alleged asylum seekers is only set to rise in the coming year, projecting that it could rise by over £100 million in 2022 based on analysis of Home Office figures.

The pressure group, which argues for reduced mass migration to Britain, said that the increase in spending has been driven by a dramatic increase in asylum seekers being housed in accommodation, which hit 64,000 this year, a three-fold increase since 2012. The cost is compounded by the government housing some 16,800 asylum seekers in pricey accommodations such as hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, as well as the former military barracks in Folkestone.

Asylum seekers receiving direct payments, such as through cash cards, has also sharply risen since 2012, increasing from 23,000 to 52,000 this year.

Once on British soil, migrants are afforded free accommodation, a weekly stipend of at least £39.63, access to National Health Service (NHS) healthcare, free dental care, and education for children between the ages of five and 17 — all of which is paid for by the British taxpayer.

The increased strain on the asylum system comes amid a record year for illegal immigration in the English Channel, with approximately 28,000 illegal migrants — 98 per cent of whom apply for asylum — landing on British soil this year, alone. The government has vowed to prevent illegal immigrants from applying for asylum, however, it has so far failed in coming to an agreement with France or the EU to take back deported migrants.

Previous projections from the National Audit Office (NAO) estimated that there would be 70,000 asylum seekers being housed in government-sponsored accommodation by 2029, however, the Home Office has admitted that it could reach 80,000 by next year. The NAO calculated that supporting 80,000 asylum seekers could cost £537 per year, more than £100 million than the current spending rate.

Commenting on the report, the chairman of Migration Watch UK, Alp Mehmet said: “This is another shocking reminder of the government’s abject failure to control our borders, having needlessly allowed the situation in the Channel to get out of control.

“The costs have skyrocketed in tandem with the abuse, while the taxpayer foots the bill. No wonder public disquiet is growing as border mismanagement increases. What a mess.”

The issue of housing migrants in taxpayer-funded hotels was first brought to public attention last year by Brexit leader Nigel Farage, who uncovered a hotel in the West Midlands housing 147 migrants while refusing to take bookings from native Britons.

Mr Farage also revealed migrants being given VIP treatment, being given private tours of Anfield Stadium after a Premier League match. Embarrassingly for the government, migrants were even being housed in a hotel in Home Secretary Priti Patel’s home constituency — a scheme that was ultimately shut down after public outrage.

The migrant hotel scheme has also been marred by some violent outbreaks, including last June, when a Sudanese migrant went on a stabbing spree inside his Glasgow hotel, injuring six people, including a police officer, David Whyte, who was critically injured.

The alleged asylum seeker, Badreddin Abadlla Adam — who was shot dead during the attack — had reportedly been dissatisfied with the free accommodation and food provided to him, as macaroni and cheese was not “culturally appropriate” for him.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter @KurtZindulka

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