The overall cost of the asylum system in the UK has dropped by nearly £1 billion since Labour came into power.
Since winning the 2024 general election, Labour have made getting the asylum system under control a big priority of theirs after years of chaos under the Tories.
This has seen home secretary Shabana Mahmood take measures to reduce the usage of hotels to house asylum seekers, speed up the processing system for asylum claims and increase the removal of people with no right to be in the UK.
The figures show Labour are making progress on these fronts, and now data has revealed there is a significant financial gain to the government’s asylum policies.
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Under this Labour government, asylum costs have fallen by nearly £1 billion, thanks in large part to the policies mentioned above, the Home Office revealed this week.
In particular, cutting back on the use of hotel accommodation has had an impact. The number of hotels in use to house asylum seekers has been halved from its peak under the Tories in September 2023, as part of Labour’s pledge to end the use of hotel accommodation fully before the end of this parliament in 2029.
Decisions on asylum applications have also sped up under Labour, with officials now processing claims faster than new applications are being lodged.
This has helped to get through the backlog of claims that had built up under the last Conservative government.
By getting a decision quicker, asylum applicants are spending less time waiting in temporary accommodation, reducing costs and making it easier to focus resources on legitimate protection needs.
All of the above, combined with the rise in deportations from the UK, are making the asylum system more efficient, streamlined, cost-efficient and credible.