UK Asylum System Costs Reach Record £5.38 Billion

Home Office spending on asylum services rose by 36% in 2023/24, marking the highest expenditure since records began in 2010.

The UK spent £5.38 billion on its asylum system in 2023/24, an increase of £1.43 billion from the previous year.
This figure is over four times higher than the £1.34 billion spent in 2020/21 and nearly 12 times the amount spent a decade ago in 2013/14.
The spending includes costs for cash support, accommodation, staffing, and other migration-related activities but excludes Channel crossing operations.
New Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch acknowledged decades of political failures on migration management and took responsibility for her party's role.
The government has reduced the use of asylum hotels since their peak but continues to house asylum seekers while working to deport those deemed ineligible.