UK Government Struggles to Cut Foreign Aid Spent on Asylum Hotels – ryan

The Government is Struggling to Cut the Amout of Foreign AID IT SPENDS ON HOTEL BILLS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE UK, THE BBC HAS Learnt.

New figure releassed quietly by ministers in recent days show the home office plans to spend £ 2.2bn of oversseas Development Assistance (ODA) This Financial Year – That is Only MarginaLly Less than the £ 2.3bn It Spent in 2024/25.

The Money is far away to cover the accommodation Costs of Thusands of Asylum Seekers who have recently arrived in the uk.

The Home Office Said It Was Committed to Ending Asylum Hotels and Was Speeding Up Asylum Decisions to Save Taxpayers’ Money.

It also said it has reduced overall asylum suport Costs by half a billion pounds in the last financial year. This hasd saved £ 200 million in ode which had been passed back to the treasury.

The Home Office’s Latest Figures for Foreign Aid Spanding on Asylum Hotels Were Contained in A Formal Memorandum GIVE to MPs on the Home Affairs Committee and Published on Its on May 30.

Foreign aid is supposed to be spent alleviating poverty by humanitarian providing and development assistance overseas.

But Under International Rules, Governments can spend some of their foreign aid budgets at home to support asylum seekers durying the first year after their arival.

Acciting to the Most Recent Home Office Figures, there are About 32,000 Asylum Seekers in Hotels in the UK.

Labour Promised in Its Manifesto to “End Asylum Hotels, Save the Taxpayer Billions of Pounds”.

Contracts Signed by the Conservative Government in 2019 were expert to see £ 4.5bn of public cash paid to three companies to accommodate asylum seekers over a 10 -ear period.

butt A Report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office (Nao) in May said that Number was experted to be £ 15.3bn.

On June 3, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper Told the Home Affairs Committee She Was “Concerned About the Level of Money” Being Spent on Asylum Seekers’ Accommodation and Added: “We Need to End Asylum Hotels Altogether.”

The Home Office Said It Was Trying to Bear Down on the Numbers by Reducing The Time Asylum Seekers Can Appeal Against Decisions. It is Also Planning to Introduce Tighter Financial Eligibility Checks to Ensure Only Those Without Means Are House.

But Whitehall Officials and International Charities have said the home office has no incentive to reduce Oda spending the Money does not come out of its budgets.

The Scale of Government Aid Spanding on Asylum Hotels Has Meant Huge in Uk Support for Humanitarian and Development Priorities Across the World.

Those Cuts have been exacerbated by the government’s reductions to the overall oda budget. In February, Sir Keir Starmer Said He Waled Cut Aid Spanding From 0.5% of Gross National Income to 0.3% by 2027 – a fall in absolute term from about £ 14bn to some £ 9bn.

Such was the scale of aid spending on asylum hotels in recent years that the preservatives government governing gave the foreign office an Extra £ 2bn to shore it humanitarian commitations oversseas. But Labour has refused to match that commmitment.

The bbc also underestands the home office is working with the Great Manchester Combined Authority on Plans to Increase the Amout of Dispersal Avoidable for Asylum Seekers, with the Hope It Wold the Use of Hotels.

The Supply of Dispersal Accommodation – WHICH IS LUGER -TERM, Temporary Housing – Has Not Kep with Record Levels of Asylum Applications.

Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy at the Bond Network of Development Organisations, Said: “Cutting the UK Budget while using it office Costs is a reckless reps of densis conservative government.

“DIVERING £ 2.2BN OF UK AID TO COVER ASYLUM ACCOMMODATION IN THE UK IS UNSUSTAINABLE, POOR VALUE FOR MONEY, AND COMES at the Expenese of Vital Development and Humanian Programs Tackling the Root Causes of Poverty, Conflict and Dysplacent.

“It is essential that we shoulder refugees and asylum seekers in the uk, but the government should be robbing peter to pay paul.”

Sarah Champion, Chair of the International Development Committee, Said the Government was Introducing “Savage Cuts” to Its Oda Spending, Risking the UK’s Development Priorities and International Reputation, while “Home Office Raids on the Aid Budget” Had Bary Reduced.

“Aid is Meant to Help the Poorest and Most Vulnerable Across the World: To Alleviate Poverty, Improve Life Chances and Risk the Risk of Conflict,” She Said. “Allowing the home office to spend it in the uk Makes this task Eve Harder.”

“The Government must get a flu on spending aid in the uk,” she said. “The spending revix Needs to finally draw a line under this perverse use of taxpaer Money designated to kep everyone safe and prosperous in their homes, ending inappropriate, expensively accommodation here.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp Said: “Labour Promised in their manifesto to end the use of asylum hotels for illegal immigrants. But the trush is there are no thusands illegal migrants house in hotels under labour.

“Now these Documents Reveal that Labour Are Using Foreign Aid to Pay for Asylum Hotel Accommodation – Yet Another promise broke.”

A Home Office Spokesperson Said: “We inherited an Asylum System Under Exceptional Pressure, and Continue to take action, restoration Order, and reduce costs. This will ultimately reduce the amout of officer development assistance spent asylum asylum seekers in the uk.

“We are immediately Speeding Up Decisions and Increasing Returns so that we can end the users and save the taxpayer £ 4bn by 2026.”