The UK government’s plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, in order to deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats, has cost taxpayers upwards of £700m, according to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. The scheme was never fully implemented due to legal challenges, with only four people being voluntarily removed to the country. The current Labour government has abolished the plan, describing it as an expensive and ineffective gimmick. The Home Secretary also confirmed that the government would resume processing all asylum claims, including those of individuals who arrived in the UK illegally.
During a statement in the Commons, Cooper explained that the £700m included costs such as payments to Rwanda, the hiring of flights that were never used, detaining hundreds of individuals, and paying over 1,000 civil servants to work on the scheme. She added that over six years, the government had planned to spend over £10bn on the proposal, highlighting the wastefulness of the overall approach.
However, Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly accused Cooper of exaggerating the numbers, and said that scrapping the Rwanda scheme on ‘ideological grounds’ was a mistake. He emphasized the discourtesy demonstrated towards the government of Rwanda, regarding reading the decision in the news before being formally notified.
Moreover, Cooper expressed disappointment in the previous Conservative government’s ‘asylum Hotel California’ program where individuals enter the program and receive taxpayer-funded accommodations but never leave. She notes that under the Illegal Migration Act, “no decision can be taken on an individual’s case if they arrived in the UK after March 2023 and met certain conditions in the legislation,” essentially creating an amnesty situation, where people can remain in the country indefinitely. The Home Office estimates that 40% of asylum cases since March 2023 are covered by the conditions in the act but did not create an effective way to distinguish between cases that were not covered. Cooper estimated that the taxpayer could save roughly £7bn over the next decade if the law were adjusted so that the Home Office could immediately start clearing cases from after March 2023.
The UK government has been challenged with high levels of small boat crossings, with over 15,000 people crossing the Channel in small boats this year. This figure is higher than any previously recorded period. Cooper warned that the high levels of crossings would likely continue throughout the summer, highlighting the need for further action and a change in the hitherto ineffective policies and plans to address the issue.
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