Open your homes to asylum-seekers to help cut hotel bills, report urges Britons
Britons should open their homes to asylum-seekers to help reduce the £2.2 billion annual cost of housing them in hotels, a report backed by a former Cabinet minister says.
The Government should adopt a Ukrainian refugees-style sponsorship scheme for asylum-seekers from other nations, according to the report, backed by former justice secretary Brandon Lewis.
The analysis, by the Policy Exchange think tank, found that the annual cost of supporting asylum-seekers in the UK totalled £3.5 billion, including hotels, allowances, healthcare, school places and new bodies such as the small boats operational command.
The £2.2 billion cost of hotel accommodation is more than the £2.1 billion the Government allocated to its second round of levelling up funding and three times the £630 million investment to combat homelessness.
As part of a six-point plan to tackle the asylum crisis, the report called for a “galvanisation of voluntary spirit” to expand Ukraine-style sponsorship schemes to other nationalities including asylum seekers of Iranian, Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi origin.
It also proposed mobilising volunteers to help with English language tuition to ease pressures on the government budget for such teaching and pave the way for asylum-seekers to integrate into UK society, and said the asylum system was not only “incredibly expensive” but also “exceptionally statist”.
In a foreword, Mr Lewis said: “We must do more to galvanise community efforts, such as by expanding the sponsorship model for Ukrainian refugees to other nationalities – so that the burden of supporting refugees is spread evenly, rather than falling on the poorest.”
However, he stressed that such a move must go hand in hand with robust measures to end illegal Channel crossings through the Illegal Migration Bill.
The legislation allows ministers to detain and swiftly deport any migrant arriving illegally to a third safe country such as Rwanda or their home country.
“As an urgent priority, the Government must stay the course on its plans to stop the small boats, as the overall volume of those crossing the Channel is the single largest driver of costs,” said the Policy Exchange report.
“Once this has been achieved, it will be possible to implement a new safe and legal route – under parliamentary control – which shifts the focus of the UK’s support from those illegally crossing the Channel to those who are genuinely in need, such as women and children in conflict zones.”
It backed government plans to impose an annual cap on numbers entering through safe and legal routes, the level of which would be determined by Parliament. It would prioritise women and children.
