Migrants living at the Comfort Inn in London took to the streets to protest the cramped conditions at the hotel. Credit: Jamie Lorriman
Spending on accommodation of asylum seekers in hotels and other temporary accommodation is expected to reach £11bn a year, according to government analysis, as rising arrivals add to a growing backlog.
Swella Braverman's official impact assessment of the Irregular Migration Bill warns that the cost of accommodating migrants could exceed £30m a day – up from more than £6m a day at present.
The figures, expected to be released this week, are likely to be used by the Home Secretary as evidence that the planned legislation will save taxpayers money as ministers prepare for a major confrontation with Labor and the House of Lords to push change through Parliament. .
The disclosure comes as the government awaits an Appeal Court ruling, expected this week, on the legality of its plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of a new approach aimed at deterring newcomers .
The Illegal Migration Bill gives ministers the power to detain almost all migrants entering the UK illegally and quickly repatriate them to their home country or a safe third country such as Rwanda.
Swella Braverman: “We will continue to fight abuses in our asylum system, which will ultimately save British taxpayers money.” Photo: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency
Earlier this month it was reported that the deportation of those arriving on small boats could cost up to £6 billion over the next two years.
But The Telegraph understands that the official impact assessment, which looks at financial costs and benefits of the bill states that a reduction of as little as 37 per cent per 1,000 migrants crossing the Channel would result in a net savings in money that could be saved on UK living costs.
The estimate is expected to show that by the end of 2026, living expenses could reach more than £30m a day without government intervention.
A government source said: “[The Illegal Migration Bill] will absolutely save taxpayers money if we can get it up and running and keep migrants from traveling.”
“This is what the public wants and we have to provide it, no ifs or buts. Inaction leaves a ticking time bomb and could see costs more than triple.
“It's bad enough that opposition parties vote against the bill, but will they say what taxes they plan to increase for the British ? will people pay £30m a day for asylum seeker hotels if they manage to lock them down? This is the price of voting against the bill.”
Cruise ship plans thwarted
Some 46,000 migrants are currently hosted by the UK government for £6m a day. Plans to house asylum seekers on the Mersey cruise ships in the Wirral and on London's city docks have been thwarted.
However, the Home Office is working on proposals to house migrants in tents on large lots. The government also plans to host more than 3,000 migrants at RAF bases Scampton in Lincolnshire and Wethersfield in Essex.
Separately, officials have struck a deal to use a barge in Portland Harbor in Dorset as housing from the end of July. Earlier this month, Rishi Sunak said the government had already secured the use of two more cruise ships to accommodate another 1,000 migrants, but ministers have yet to find ports that will accept them.
Earlier this month, Ms Braverman said : “It was clear to me that the unacceptable number of people making overtly illegal and dangerous crossings had to stop.” use new technology in Dover.
“We will continue to fight abuses in our asylum system, which will ultimately save British taxpayers money.”
The Home Office said last week that more than 3,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in a small boat in June, a record month for the year and already ahead of last June's total.
The surge cast doubt on the prime minister's claim that the policy government sent when stopping the boat “began to work”.
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