Asylum accommodation costs set to triple, says watchdog
Summary
The cost of housing asylum seekers in the UK is now expected to be £15.3 billion, three times the initial government estimate of £4.5 billion. The increase is mainly due to the rising number of asylum seekers and the use of hotels for accommodation. The National Audit Office reported these findings and noted that most of the spending comes from housing asylum seekers in hotels.Key Facts
- The cost of housing asylum seekers is expected to be £15.3 billion, up from an initial estimate of £4.5 billion.
- Contracts signed in 2019 aimed to spend £4.5 billion over 10 years with three companies: Serco, Mears, and Clearsprings.
- The number of asylum seekers in accommodation rose from 47,000 in December 2019 to 110,000 by December 2024.
- About three-quarters of the accommodation spending is on hotels, which only house a third of asylum seekers.
- The three companies made a combined profit of £383 million from these contracts between September 2019 and August 2024.
- Clearsprings' specific contract costs increased from £0.7 billion to an expected £7 billion.
- The Home Office has an option to break these contracts next year, but it seems unlikely they will do so.
- The rise in accommodation costs is partly due to an increase in small boat crossings, according to a senior Home Office source.
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