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A controversial plan to relocate asylum seekers and illegal immigrants to Rwanda could cost around £60,000 more per person than to keep them in Britain, Home Office figures show.
A government cost assessment suggests that flights to Rwanda will cost £169,000 per person.
The potential savings from relocating people is ‘uncertain’ given that the policy has not yet been implemented, but estimates suggest that £106,000 could be saved by not including anyone in the asylum system, net The cost will be £63,000 per person.
This means that funding the policy will cost taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds more.
But the deterrent effect of the new law will bring overall savings, according to the Home Office.
The document states that around £170,000 in costs “will only accrue to those who enter the UK illegally”.
“There will be no costs if individuals are prevented from entering the UK illegally,” the assessment concluded.
Home Office insiders pointed to a sentence in the report that estimated that blocking 37% of the population from traveling to Britain could make the policy cost-neutral.
However, because the policy is new and has not yet been implemented, it is unclear whether the deterrence rate is this high.
A long-awaited impact assessment of the Illegal Immigration Bill, a new law enacted to curb dangerous boat crossings, was released Monday.
Interior Minister Suera Braverman said it had proved that “doing nothing is an option”.
“We cannot allow a system to continue that encourages people to risk their lives and pay smugglers to enter our country illegally, while placing an unacceptable burden on the UK taxpayer,” she said. Stated.
“I urge members of parliament and legislators to support the bill to stop the boats so we can bring the refugee system back into balance while cracking down on smuggling gangs.”
Braverman is under increasing pressure to deliver on his promise to reduce the number of illegal boats.
Since the first Rwandan policy was announced under her predecessor Preti Patel more than a year ago, legal issues have prevented any people from relocating.
Meanwhile, the Home Secretary’s plan to house asylum seekers on barges to cut the cost of staying in hotels has been plagued by delays.
Braverman said the Bivy Stockholm accommodation ship, which holds about 500 people, had promised to dock in Portland a week ago, but remains in Falmouth for inspection and maintenance.
The home secretary hopes to save £6m a day in hotel costs by using converted barges and military bases to house asylum seekers.
But on Monday I A major new asylum center has revealed that if they cannot be deported, they can only hold channel migrants for three months before returning them to their hotels.
Home Office officials were told that asylum seekers would only be held at Wethersfield Air Force Base for three months while their applications were being processed, a person familiar with the matter said.
The revelation raises concerns that the refugee site will have little impact on people’s overall housing costs, given that their applications are likely to take months to reach a conclusion. deaf.