Labour 'amnesty' may add 44,000 illegal migrants to welfare bill, say Home Office's own calculations - and Tories say it could cost taxpayer £18bn
Labour's 'amnesty' for illegal migrants will add up to 44,000 people to Britain's welfare bill, a government assessment reveals.
Of 63,053 people previously earmarked for deportation, as many as 70 per cent will now be allowed to stay in Britain with 'full access' to the welfare system. This could hit taxpayers with a £17.8billion in extra costs over the migrants' lifetimes, critics have warned.
The previous Conservative government passed a law banning arrivals on small boats from claiming asylum. It introduced a Duty to Remove, marking them for deportation either to Rwanda or their home country.
She has now been accused of 'hiding' the true cost of the measures after Home Office documents show that a vast majority of the claimants could end up in the UK's benefits system.
In this drone view an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants makes its way towards England in the English Channel, Britain, August 6, 2024
A group of people thought to be migrants wade through the sea to clamber aboard a small boat off the beach in Gravelines, France
An 'Impact Assessment' document, published alongside Ms Cooper's announcement, illustrates the pressures this could have on Britain's welfare system, saying it 'may lead to an increase in Universal Credit costs', as well as extra cost of transport, health and housing.
It says that of the 126,106 illegal migrants who have claimed asylum since March 2023, as many as half were subject to 'Duty to Remove' provisions. Of these, as many as 70 per cent – or 44,137 – are now likely to be granted asylum, the document admits. It says: 'Any asylum seekers who are granted asylum will have full access to, and obligation to contribute towards, the welfare system to support them while out of employment.'
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said: 'Sir Keir has surrendered to the people smuggling gangs with an amnesty for illegal migrants. And it's the British taxpayer who will be made to pick up the eye-watering bill for his capitulation.
'Sir Keir's decision will only add to the problem of waiting lists for GP surgeries, the shortage of social housing and pressure on school places. Instead of prioritising Brits, Labour is set to overwhelm local authorities with tens of thousands more illegal migrants they should have instead removed.'
On a number of costs associated with granting tens of thousands of extra asylum claims, the document refuses to specify amounts. It says: 'Local authorities incur costs associated with supporting asylum seekers in their communities, though the Home Office has not been able to establish a generally useable figure'. Of the asylum claims that are rejected, the assessment says: 'The Home Office may continue to support a number of these (e.g. where they are destitute families).
'Returning failed asylum seekers will incur costs to the Home Office which will depend on whether returns are voluntary or enforced'.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, by Border Force earlier this month
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, by Border Force following a small boat incident in the Channel earlier this month
Conservative MP Nick Timothy said: 'These papers reveal the truth about Labour's immigration policy. Come to the country illegally, and you will get to stay here for good.
'Labour's plan is to rush all these cases through the asylum system and then park migrants on benefits, hiding the tens of billions they will cost from the public.'
He accused the Home Secretary of 'hiding the far greater cost of her own plans' while announcing savings from scrapping the Rwanda scheme, and said that assuming all 44,000 asylum seekers enter the benefits system could cost the taxpayer £17.8bn over their lifetimes.
But a Labour spokesman said: 'This scenario does not match with reality. Under the Tories, everyone who arrived here, no matter what their nationality was staying permanently in taxpayer-funded accommodation, including asylum hotels, with absolutely no prospect of removal. Carrying on like this would have cost us £30-40 billion – double our policing budget.
'Figures released last week show that their chaotic approach has created a record asylum backlog – over 220,000 are now in the asylum system.'
